The Wand, the Ring and the Sword
by JBean210
Summary: About to duel a resurrected Voldemort, Harry is visited by a Green Lantern Power Ring, receiving its powers. What will he do with such power? Will he wield it wisely, or will the power go to his head? And what has happened to the original Green Lantern, Hal Jordan?
1. The Wand

**The Wand, the Ring and the Sword  
****By JBean210**

_Published 3/14/2015_

_Happy Pi Day!_

_-o=o-_

**Chapter One**

**The Wand**

-o=o-

**A/N: For Catwriter, who wants to read a Harry Potter / Green Lantern cross over.**

-o=o-

"We bow to each other. Harry," said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come, the niceties must be observed… Dumbledore would like you to show manners… Bow to death, Harry…"

Harry's wand was in his right hand, his arm still trickled blood from the wound where Wormtail had taken his blood. His breath came in harsh gasps as the Dark Lord taunted him. He would not give in, he would not bow to him—

"I said _bow_," Voldemort hissed, raising his wand, and Harry felt a force like some huge, invisible hand bending him forward, forcing him to do Voldemort's will. Around them, the gathered Death Eaters who had been so silent, so fearful as Voldemort admonished them for not coming to his aid over the past 13 years, now laughed raucously at Harry's peril. "Very good," Voldemort said at last, and the pressure on his spine ceased. Harry stood upright.

"And now, we duel." Voldemort's wand moved again, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself he was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. Everything disappeared in a wave of white-hot pain, all-encompassing and all-consuming, so that Harry was no longer even aware of where he was. There was only the pain—

Suddenly, it stopped. Breathing heavily, Harry staggered to his feet, trying to move away from Voldemort, to put distance between them, but he fell against some Death Eaters who had surrounded them, and was pushed roughly back toward Voldemort.

"A little break, then," Voldemort said lazily, his wand circling in the air in anticipation of the next bit of fun. "That hurt, didn't it, Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Harry ground out, raggedly, and he meant it.

"You're not?" Voldemort smiled evilly. "I asked whether you want me to do that again," he said. When Harry didn't answer, he pointed his wand. "Answer me! _Imperio_!"

The Imperius Curse wiped his mind of all thought save the command to respond to Voldemort, to do as he bid. But Harry resisted it with all of his will. _I will not answer_, he thought. _I won't_. _I WON'T_.

Just say no, another part of him crooned. It will be so easy, so simple. Just answer no…

_I WON'T_, Harry's mind screamed, fighting back. Just answer no…

"I — WON'T!"

Harry's words echoed through the graveyard, and the laughter of the Death Eaters died away. "You won't?" Voldemort said quietly, his red eyes flashing dangerously in the fading light of the evening. "Harry, obedience is a virtue you must learn before you die. Perhaps another dose of pain —"

But as Voldemort began to raise his wand this time, Harry reacted, flinging himself sideways to the ground and rolled behind the marble headstone of Voldemort's father, Tom Riddle. Harry heard a _crack_ as the curse Voldemort had cast slammed against it.

Voldemort chuckled, a terrible sound. "Harry, Harry…" he softly chided, as the Death Eaters began laughing once again. "We are not playing hide-and-seek here. Our game is considerably higher stakes, as you should know.

"You cannot hide from me. You cannot escape — even if you could Apparate, I have cast spells to keep you here. You are being a very foolish boy, Harry Potter."

Silently, Harry had to agree. This was it for him, the end had come. He couldn't run, he couldn't fight. Even if he could Disarm Voldemort, the only dueling spell he knew, what could he do against so many gathered Death Eaters? Harry sighed silently, resolving to meet his end with his head held high, unafraid.

"Does this mean you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry?" Voldemort taunted him. "Come out, then, Harry. Come out and we can play one final time. I promise it will be quick, now. It may even be painless. I don't know, as I've never died…"

Harry would show him how a brave man died. He prepared to leap to his feet, to challenge Voldemort with the only spell he knew that might help him, the Disarming Charm. Perhaps, just _perhaps_, he could surprise the Dark Lord enough to make him lose his wand.

"Harry Potter."

The voice in his ear made Harry freeze. It had not come from Voldemort, nor Wormtail, nor any Death Eater. It was as if someone had whispered directly into his ear. Harry turned his head.

Floating inches from his nose was a ring. "You are Harry Potter," the ring said.

Harry fought down the impulse to ask how a ring could talk and instead whispered, "Yes, I'm Harry."

"You have been judged worthy to bear this ring and wield the power of the Green Lantern Corps," the voice in his ear, the ring said to him.

"What is — the Green Lantern Corps?" Harry whispered. He had no idea what the ring was saying to him.

"Harry, stop whispering to yourself and face me," Voldemort said, beginning to draw nearer to the gravestone. "I grow tired of your attempt to delay the inevitable! Stand and face me!"

"Hold up your right hand," the voice whispered, and Harry obeyed. The ring flew downward, settling on his third finger, and flashed bright green. "Speak the Oath. You know the words."

Harry started to shake his head, having no idea what the voice meant, but words were forming in his head. Important words.

"_In brightest day, in blackest night_

_No evil shall escape my sight!"_

Harry whispered into the night. Evil was all around him now. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were evil and couldn't be allowed to go on killing people like Wormtail had killed Cedric. He rose to his feet, turning to face Voldemort.

"Ah, _there_ you are, Harry," Voldemort hissed. "Let us continue our little duel, then—"

"_Let those who worship evil's might,"_

Harry spoke more loudly this time, pointing his fist at Voldemort, who pointed his wand at Harry.

"_Beware my power — Green Lantern's light!"_

Harry shouted the last words at the top of his lungs, and on the last word Voldemort shouted, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

A green flash slammed into Harry, seeming to illuminate every tombstone, every mask that watched the duel between Harry and Voldemort. Harry flew backwards a dozen feet, landing in the dirt.

Voldemort lowered his wand. It was finished. Potter was dead. He had fulfilled the prophecy. And the ignomy of his defeat at Potter's hand was laid to—

"Master!" Wormtail suddenly cried. "Look!"

Voldemort looked, and felt a cold dread pass through him. Potter was moving! The boy pushed himself up on one elbow, looking down at the green glowing ring on his finger. "What happened?" he asked, seemingly to himself.

Voldemort stepped forward again, brandishing his wand. "_Avada Kedavra_!" he shouted again, and the green flash hurtled toward Harry. Before it reached him, however, a dome of green light surrounded him, deflecting the Killing Curse away into the evening sky.

"Impossible!" Voldemort hissed. "The Killing Curse cannot be blocked!"

Harry was getting to his feet, holding the ring near his face. "Oh, I see," he said, ignoring Voldemort and his followers. It was almost as if he were…speaking to it. "I can really do that?" Harry's eyes looked up from the ring, into Voldemort's.

Voldemort felt — fear. "Kill him!" he shouted to his Death Eaters.

They surged forward, wands throwing arcs and bolts of energy at Harry. They were all deflected by green bursts from his ring. Harry pointed his right hand at them. The ring on his finger flashed green again, and beams of green light shot from it, forming giant hands that grabbed all of the Death Eaters and held them fast. The beams of light separated from the ring, but the green hands remained solid around the now-helpless Death Eaters.

"You — you cannot…" Voldemort hissed disbelievingly. "Where do you get such power, Potter?" His wand was held before him but what could he do? Potter had resisted even the Killing Curse, just like all those years ago, even though his mudblood mother was long-dead now and no help to him.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Harry said, taunting him.

In just a few seconds he had learned what the ring upon his hand was, what it represented. The ring had told him it was a Power Ring, fashioned upon the Planet Oa by a race of immortal beings known as the Guardians, beings who had made themselves the protectors of the Milky Way galaxy. Oa, at the center of the galaxy, was the repository of the Central Power Battery, the source of the Green Lantern's power.

Harry had also learned that he was needed elsewhere, that the man who had worn this ring before him was in serious trouble and he needed to save him before it was too late. Harry had precious little time to waste fighting Voldemort.

"I have to go now," Harry said. "But before I do, I need to take care of you." The ring had told him it worked by imagination and willpower — anything he could imagine, the ring could bring into reality, and would remain real as long as he had the will to sustain it. Harry's eyes quickly scanned the graveyard. What could he do to render Voldemort and his followers harmless until the Ministry could arrive to collect them?

Harry saw the solution. The iron fence around the graveyard began glowing green, then broke apart into long iron rods, wrapping themselves around the torsos of the Death Eaters. Other pieces of iron wove themselves around the constraining bands, then plunged their ends into the ground, anchoring the Death Eaters in place. Voldemort screamed impotent rage and fury as the same fate befell him, though Harry fastened three times as many iron rods around the Dark Lord as he had around his followers. All of their wands floated away from them, plunging into the ground a dozen yards from them, forming a sort of garden of wands beyond the reach of any of them.

"I will let Dumbledore know where you're at," Harry said to Voldemort. A green broomstick formed in his hand, and Harry mounted it. The ring glowed green again and Cedric Diggory's body lifted into the air, floating over as a second broom formed beneath it. Harry and Cedric's body flew into the night sky, headed towards Hogwarts.

"Master," a faltering voice croaked near Voldemort's ear. It was Wormtail. "Master, what do we do now?"

"Oh, shut up!"


	2. The Ring

.

**Chapter Two**

**The Ring**

_Updated 3/21/2015_

-o=o-

The spectators milling around the stands of Hogwarts Quidditch pitch were trying to find out what had happened to the last two contestants, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. They had been first into the maze, and now that the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions had been removed from the maze, they would be the last ones out.

Professors Dumbledore and Moody, both near the entrance where Harry and Cedric had entered the maze, were conferring quietly. "I am surprised it has taken this long," Dumbledore confided to the Defense professor. "Both young men have done quite well to this point."

"This isn't an easy task, Albus," Moody reminded him. "You saw what happened to the other two champions. We'll just have to wait until one of them shows up or we see red stars —"

Both men, and the crowd, looked up in surprise as two forms suddenly swooped down from the night sky on bright green brooms. It was Harry and Cedric, though as Harry landed his broom disappeared and he rushed over to grab the larger Hufflepuff as he began to slide off his broomstick.

"Help me!" Harry shouted. "It's Cedric! He's been killed!"

There was an immediate rush toward them as the judges took hold of Cedric's body. Harry stepped back, trying to get far enough away so he could reform his broom and find the man who'd owned the green ring now on his right hand, but he found he had backed directly into the arms of Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked, holding him by both arms.

"Professor, it was—" Harry pitched his voice to a whisper. "—it was Voldemort. He's back!"

"Back?" Moody, who was at Dumbledore's elbow, asked sharply. "Back how?"

"Wormtail brought him back!" Harry said excitedly. The whole thing seemed like a blur now. "They made a potion in a big cauldron, and they put stuff from his father's grave, and Wormtail's h-hand —" Harry shuddered, remembering the scream as Wormtail's hand fell into the cauldron "— and my — my blood." Harry held up his arm, showing his torn sleeve and the wound.

"How did Cedric die?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes flashing intently.

"Wormtail killed him," Harry gasped. "Killing Curse! Voldemort touched the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm and it changed color! All of the Death Eaters began showing up!"

"Albus," Moody said in a low, fast voice. "Amos Diggory's coming this way. We need to stop him before he sees Cedric's body. I'll take Harry to the infirmary."

"No, I want Harry to remain here—"

"I can't," Harry said, backing away from Dumbledore. "I've got to go find someone. He's been hurt!"

"You can't leave, son," Moody told him. "You need medical care."

"I have to go!" Harry said loudly. "He needs help!"

"Who needs help?" Dumbledore asked.

"The man I got this from!" Harry held out his right hand, showing him the ring.

"CEDRIC!" Amos Diggory screamed as he dropped to his knees besides the body of his son.

"Go help Amos," Moody said to Dumbledore. "I'll get Harry some help."

But as Moody reached for him Harry pulled away. "There's a Death Eater at Hogwarts!" he said loudly, and for a moment there was silence as everyone stopped screaming or crying or shouting. A Death Eater? Here?

"Harry," Dumbledore's voice cut through the silence. "Who is the Death Eater?"

"It's — Karkaroff!" Harry said, looking around wildly for the man. "Where is he?" Without thinking he raised his right hand, willing the ring to find everyone there with a Dark Mark.

Green light flashed around — Alastor Moody.

Moody suddenly moved faster than it seemed possible — his wand was in his hand and he was shooting a curse at Dumbledore, who had moved with the same incredible speed to block it. Before Harry could form a hand of green light to grab the Defense professor, he was lying on the ground, unconscious.

Dumbledore stared down at the prostrate form, an expression of disgust on his face. But when he glanced at Harry his eyes were twinkling again. "Quite interesting, Harry. I should like to know more about that ring you possess. But first—" He pointed his wand at Moody. "_Polyfluis Reverso_!"

Moody's still form began to change, almost flowing like water. His features were becoming younger, his scars disappearing. The Eye popped out of his head, replaced with a real one, and rolled across the ground, still swiveling in all directions. His false leg came off with a _clunk_ as a real leg grew back in its place. The grizzled mane of gray hair became shorter, turning straw colored.

"That's Barty Crouch!" Someone behind them said. Harry thought it was Professor McGonagall's voice.

"It is indeed," Dumbledore said softly. "Apparently he has been deceiving us all year about his true identity." Dumbledore did not look at all pleased as he said this.

Harry stared at the man he thought had been Moody all year. It was quite a shock, but there were more shocks to come— "There're all there in the graveyard," he said to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, who was regarding Crouch with a bemused expression, replied distractedly. "Who are they, Harry?"

"Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

The Headmaster gave Harry a very odd look, as if he did not believe what he'd just heard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're all still in that graveyard," Harry said, pointing in the direction he'd come from. "I left them there, all tied up."

"What nonsense is this?" Professor Snape, who'd arrived with Professor McGonagall and the other judges, snapped. "Do you expect us to believe _you_ subdued the Dark Lord and all of his followers, Potter?"

"You can go check," Harry said, flatly. He didn't much care whether Snape believed him or not. "They may get away if you wait too long, though."

"Harry," Dumbledore was giving him another odd look. "Voldemort's father was buried in the Little Hangleton graveyard — that is quite some distance from here. You could not have flown here from there on a broom in less than an hour."

"Well, it wasn't a real broom, I guess," Harry said, with a shrug. "I kind of made it — with this." He held up his hand again. And that reminded him—

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said urgently. "I have to go. The owner of this ring is hurt — I have to find him and help him."

Dumbledore and Harry's eyes locked. Harry's expression was one of pleading — he _had_ to find the ring's owner!

"Go," Dumbledore said, with a nod. "Return as quickly as you can, Harry, there are many questions still to be answered. And be careful."

Harry nodded. He stepped over the broom even as it formed in his hand, then shot off into the night.

-o=o-

The ring took him further northeast, over the North Sea, flying faster and faster until it seemed like he was traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, though he could didn't feel any wind trying to knock him off the broom. There seemed to be a greenish glow surrounding him — was that why he didn't feel like he was flying?

He looked down at the ring on his hand. "Ring? Are you keeping me from feeling any wind?"

AFFIRMATIVE, the ring answered in his head again, as it had before. WHILE YOU WEAR THE RING YOU ARE PROTECTED FROM EXTREMES OF COLD AND HEAT, AND PROVIDED WITH OXYGEN TO BREATH.

"How much further to — to the man who wore you before?"

SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES. WE WILL ARRIVE IN ONE HOUR UNLESS YOU AUTHORIZE SUPERSONIC SPEED WITHIN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

"I think we should go faster," Harry said immediately. "Unless that's a problem?"

COMPENSATING FOR SUPERSONIC AIR DISTURBANCES. They seemed to gain speed quickly, and were suddenly over land, flying above hills and mountain.

Then, suddenly, their speed decreased to normal broom speeds, though Harry felt no deceleration. They were flying toward the side of a mountain, and Harry could make out a bit of green below him, barely visible in the night. He aimed his broom downward, and landed next to a man in a green and black uniform.

Or, what was left of him.

Harry had never seen a living human being as damaged as the man who lay on the ground in front of him. Both of his legs were missing above the knees, either sheared off or burned away by some unimaginable force. His left hand was gone; a blistered stump remained in its place, still smoldering. His face was burned and blistered — only one eye remained. His chest was slowly rising and falling, his breath wheezing painfully as he labored to keep breathing. It was an effort for Harry to keep looking at him, but he knelt down next to the man's head.

"Can — can you hear me?" Harry asked.

"Yes." The voice was barely a whisper. The one good eye opened, staring at Harry. "Am I on Earth?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "What can I do? The ring brought me back to you."

"I sent it out to find someone worthy of wearing it," the man whispered. "Has it told you what it is?"

"Yes," Harry said. "But I don't really understand—"

"I don't have much time," the man interrupted him. "The ring will explain what you need to do. If you can't it will find someone to replace you."

Replace me to do what? Harry wanted to ask, but the man reached up with his one good hand, grasping Harry's arm.

"But you have to hurry! The one who did this to me is probably coming after me, to finish me. You have to be prepared for him! He is the most dangerous man in the universe, because my ring is nearly powerless against the ring _he_ wields! It uses yellow light, beware its power! He…is…" the man's hand slipped from Harry's arm as he fell unconscious.

_Oh no_, Harry thought. _Is he…dead_?

Green light flashed from Harry's ring, bathing the man's body. In his head, the ring began speaking.

PULSE IS 45 BEATS PER MINUTE, the ring told him. BLOOD PRESSURE IS 80 OVER 40 AND DROPPING. SUBJECT HAS LAPSED INTO COMA. PROGNOSIS IS EXPIRATION WITHIN 10 MINUTES FROM INJURIES SUSTAINED UNLESS MEDICAL CARE IS RENDERED.

"No!" Harry shouted. "If we can get him back to Hogwarts Madame Pomfrey can help him!"

HIGH-SPEED FLIGHT, EVEN IN PROTECTED MODE, WILL INCREASE STRESS TO HIS BODY, LOWERING HIS CHANCES OF REACHING DESTINATION HOGWARTS ALIVE TO 10 PERCENT. SUGGEST ALTERNATE DESTINATION.

"There is no alternate destination!" Harry said frantically. "Ring, can't _you_ do something to help him!?"

I CAN PROVIDE TEMPORARY ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION AND HALT THE BLEEDING, BUT I CANNOT REPLACE MISSING LIMBS OR ORGANS. SOLID LIGHT CONSTRUCTS ARE NOT PERMANENT, THEY ARE MAINTAINED BY WEARER'S WILLPOWER.

"Well, help him, then!" Harry ordered. "I will it!" Green light spread across the man's body, forming a shell around his chest and at the ends of his legs and his left arm. A few seconds later, the ring reported, PULSE HAS RISEN TO 55, BLOOD PRESSURE IS NOW 90 OVER 60 AND STABLE. THIS CONDITION WILL LAST FOR 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE SUBJECT BEGINS TO DETERIORATE AGAIN. SUBJECT WILL NOW EXPIRE IN NOT LESS THAN 20 MINUTES.

"Can we get him to Hogwarts in 20 minutes?"

AT MAXIMUM SAFE SPEED, ETA TO LOCATION HOGWARTS IS 21 MINUTES, 30 SECONDS.

"Damn it!" Harry cursed. But it was better than nothing, he had to at least try. "Okay, let's get going—"

There was a bright flash of light nearby. Startled, Harry fell back on his bottom, shielding his eyes. Was the person the man had warned him about attacking already? Could the ring keep the man alive and protect Harry at the same time? Harry raised his hand toward where the light had come from and called out, "Who's there?!"

"Who the heck are you?" A female voice replied. The person who stepped forward wasn't Harry's idea of someone who would have attacked the man who lay in front of him. She was a young teenage girl, blonde, in a black and yellow uniform.

Black and yellow! Could this form be a trick? "Stop!" he told the girl, pointing his ring at her.

"Cool it, man," the girl told him, putting her hands up in front of her. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Where am I?"

Harry didn't lower the ring. "We're somewhere in Scandinavia," he said, cautiously.

"What year is it?" the girl asked.

_What_? _First this guy didn't know what planet he was on, now this girl doesn't know what year it is_! "It's 1995," Harry said. "June 21st, the summer solstice, though it's probably the 22nd by now."

"Good," she nodded. "I hit the right date." She put her hands down. "Look, I'm Illyana Rasputin. What I'm doing here is a little complicated, but I don't have any intention of hurting you, so you can point your shiny little ring somewhere else, okay?"

"Um—" Despite the strangeness of the situation, something about the girl made Harry both comfortable and suspicious of her. He decided he could trust the comfortable feeling more than the suspicious part. "Er, okay," he said, lowering his ring, though he maintained the objects sustaining the man's pulse and blood pressure.

"So what's up with this guy —" Illyana stopped as she saw the extent of his injuries. "_Ouch_. Don't you think you should get him to a hospital or something?"

"That was my plan," Harry said shortly. "You appeared just as I was about to leave. I just hope I can get him there in time now." Harry stood, preparing to order the ring to return them to Hogwarts.

"Maybe I can help," the girl said, taking a step toward them. "I can get you wherever you need to go in an instant if you can show me where it is."

Harry stared at her a long moment. How could he show her Hogwarts? The ring, of course! "It looks like this," he said, willing the ring to generate a three-dimensional image of the castle. It rose up from the ground nearby, showing the towers and nearby grounds, including the greenhouses, Hagrid's hut and the Quidditch pitch. "The real thing is in Scotland," Harry said. "Its exact location is, um, sort of a secret — I can't tell you exactly where it's at."

"Not a problem," Illyana said, stepping between Harry and the injured man on the ground. "Scotland's not that far from Scandinavia — it should be a snap to 'port there."

"Wait," Harry said, "what do you mean by 'port'—"

A circle of white light appeared beneath them, and the three of them vanished in a flash of white light.

High above where they had been, a tall man, slender but powerfully built, stared down at the place where they had just disappeared. He had just arrived on this flyspeck of a world to deliver the final blow against his hated enemy, only to see him spirited away by a scrawny young boy and a mere slip of a girl. His red-hued features contorted in a grimace as he realized his goal of death for the Green Lantern was thwarted.

But only momentarily. He would find the green energy ring, wherever on this world it had gone, and would destroy both the man and his two minions, showing the universe the superiority of his weapon over those of the living fossils who infested Oa. With a burst of yellow light the red-skinned man leapt into the night sky and sped away.

-=o=-

A/N: In this chapter we're introduced to Illyana Rasputin, from the Marvel Universe(s). How did she end up in Scandinavia at the same time as Harry and Hal? Only time (and perhaps the next chapter) will tell. We also get a glimpse of the man who maimed Hal. Can you guess who it is? I knew you could! At least one reviewer thought Sinestro and Voldemort ought to team up, with Voldie joining the Sinestro Corps. I can't argue that Voldemort wouldn't be interested in wielding such power, but I'm not sure the Sinestro Corps had been formed by this time in Hal and Sinny's history. In the comics continuity Coast City was destroyed in 1993, driving Hal insane, but in this AU crossover I will assume that did not occur and that Hal and the entire Green Lantern Corps are still intact.


	3. The Sword

**.**

**Chapter Three**

**The Sword**

_Updated 3/28/2015_

-o=o-

Light flashed brightly around Harry and he found the blonde girl Illyana, the injured man and himself standing on the grounds of Hogwarts, between the Quidditch pitch and the front of the castle.

"Is this the place?" Illyana asked.

Harry nodded and used the ring to levitate the injured Green Lantern off the ground. "Come on!" he said to the girl, and they ran toward the castle doors, which obligingly opened to admit them. Harry didn't pause but ran up the main staircase, the girl on his heels, with his injured burden, headed for the hospital wing on the third floor.

They burst through the hospital doors, Harry settling the man on the nearest bed. The door to the nurse's office flew open a moment later as Madame Pomfrey came out, demanding, "Who's there? Merlin's sake, we've already had enough excitement for tonight—"

She halted, shocked as she saw the Green Lantern on the hospital bed. "Oh, my," she breathed, taking out her wand and passing over him as she cast several spells to determine his injuries. "What happened?" she demanded of Harry, who was looking at her anxiously. "Who is this man, Mr. Potter?"

"Can you help him?" Harry asked rather than answer her question. There were only minutes left before the man was beyond help. "Someone attacked him!"

"I can see that," Pomfrey murmured. "I'm surprised he's still alive, with these injuries." She turned to Harry. "Did you cast any healing spells on him?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "I don't know any. I used this." He held up his hand, showing her the ring. "This was his until he got injured, then it found me. Once I brought Cedric back I went to find him. He was like this. Can you help him?" he asked again.

"I can try," Pomfrey said grimly, pointing her wand at the unconscious man. "You and the girl wait outside," she said as her wand began weaving ribbons of magic around the man's body.

"But—"

"No buts," Pomfrey cut him off. "Leave. I'll do what I can for him."

Harry wanted to argue more but decided Madam Pomfrey knew what she was doing. He and Illyana walked out of the infirmary.

In the corridor, Illyana was looking around thoughtfully. "There's a lot of magic in this castle," she said to Harry. "What do you do here?"

"I'm a student here," Harry said. "This is a school for learning magic."

Illyana smiled. "So what were you doing up in Scandinavia with _him_?" She jerked a thumb toward the hospital doors.

"I don't know," Harry shook his head. "This ring, it sort of saved me —"

At that moment Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape, along with Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, entered the corridor from a nearby intersection, heading their way. Harry tensed.

"Uh-oh. Are you in trouble?" Illyana whispered, watching their approach.

"I hope not," Harry whispered back. But the Minister and all three professors had serious expressions on their faces. Professor Dumbledore looked as somber as Harry had ever seen him.

"Harry," Dumbledore nodded to him, then to Illyana. "I don't believe I know this young lady…" He gave Harry an inquiring glance.

"Oh." Harry finally realized the Headmaster wanted him to introduce her. "Sorry, Professor, this is Illyana Rasputin, from —" he stopped, realizing he knew nothing about her beyond her name.

"Hello, sir," Illyana said, actually curtseying as she spoke. "I'm originally from Siberia, though I live in the United States these days."

"This is Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said, indicating the Transfiguration professor, who nodded curtly at Harry and the girl. "Professor Snape, and our Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge." Neither Snape nor Fudge gave any indication they noticed Illyana. "Harry, perhaps we should go somewhere more private so you can give us the details of what happened after you reached the Tri-Wizard Cup."

Harry didn't move. "Sir, if it's alright with you, I would prefer to stay here until Madam Pomfrey finishes helping the man in there."

"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall spoke up. "This is very serious. Cedric Diggory is dead and his father is demanding to know what happened."

"What about Voldemort and the Death Eaters?" Harry asked. McGonagall flinched involuntarily at the Name and Snape's lip curled in anger.

"They have been taken into custody," Dumbledore said. "We must also discuss how you were able to accomplish that, Harry."

"With this." Harry held up his hand, showing them the green ring. "It came to me when Voldemort—"

"Stop saying his name, Potter!" Snape hissed.

"—was trying to kill me," Harry went on, ignoring the Potions Master. "It can make solid objects out of light — all I have to do is think of something and the ring can create it."

"Quite interesting…" Dumbledore murmured, looking closely at the ring over his half-moon spectacles.

"Yes, yes, it's all quite fascinating," Fudge broke in. "But if that ring is what captured You-Know-Who, it needs to be taken to the Department of Mysteries and carefully studied, Dumbledore! Harry, you'll need to hand that ring over immediately."

"I quite agree," Snape quickly added, before the Headmaster could speak. "A boy of Potter's age should not be trusted with so dangerous a weapon." He turned to Harry. "Hand over the ring."

Harry took a step back. "The ring was given to _me_," he said, holding it close to himself. "The Green Lantern told me—"

"_Who_ is this 'Green Lantern,' boy?" Fudge demanded.

"In there." Harry pointed toward the hospital doors. "That man. The ring told me he's—"

"The _ring_ told you?" Snape looked dubious. "What nonsense is this? Headmaster, Potter is obviously not thinking straight — the events of the final Task, Diggory's death — he's most likely in shock."

"I'm not in shock," Harry said. "And I'm not giving up this ring."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Snape snapped. He stepped toward Harry, reaching out to grab his hand. "Hand it ov—"

"_Stop_." Illyana's arm came forward. As it did a silver light blazed from her hand, solidifying into a long, thin sword, gleaming brightly as its edge flashed up to touch Snape's Adam's apple. "He _said_, he's keeping the ring."

Snape's eyes were embers of dark fury. "What do you think you are doing, girl?" His voice was low and menacing, but he did not try to move forward.

Fudge had backed away upon seeing the sword, while McGonagall's eyes were wide with surprise. Harry wanted to tell Illyana not to hurt Snape, but couldn't quite bring himself to utter the words. Only Dumbledore appeared to remain calm. "Young lady, I'm sure we can avoid needless conflict. Severus, would you back away from Harry, please?"

Snape moved back, touching his throat where the blade had left a hair-thin incision that was turning red. Illyana relaxed her stance but the blade remained in her hand.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said to her. "I should be interested in learning how you were able to conjure a steel blade of such high quality so quickly, my dear."

Illyana looked at Harry. "Is he kidding?" she asked.

Harry started to answer but was interrupted when the doors to the hospital wing swung open and Madam Pomfrey appeared. Everyone immediately turned to her. "Ah, Poppy!" Dumbledore said. "How is he?"

"Not good," Madam Pomfrey shook her head. She was taking deep breaths, trying to regain her wind. "He has a lot of internal injuries — too many for me to handle in time. We can try to get him to St. Mungo's, but I'm afraid even a Portkey will be more than his body can take. I'm sorry, Mr. Potter."

"No!" Harry said, shaking his head wildly. "That can't be all we can do!"

"There's nothing more I can do," Pomfrey said. Her voice was almost pleading. "I've tried, but there's too much damage to fix."

"There has to be something we can do!" Harry shouted. He looked at the ring. "Ring! What can I do to save —" _I don't even know his name_, Harry realized "er— the Green Lantern?"

A beam of green light flashed from the ring, into the hospital ward and enveloped the dying Green Lantern. ANALYZING. SUBJECT JORDAN HAS UNDERGONE MINIMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL HEALING BASED ON MYSTICAL ENERGIES. INSUFFICIENT TO PREVENT ORGAN SHUTDOWN AND LIFE TERMINATION IN APPROXIMATELY FOUR MINUTES.

"Okay! I know that! But what can I do to help him?!" Harry screamed.

SUGGEST FURTHER APPLICATION OF MYSTICAL ENERGY.

"I don't know how!" Harry said, frustrated. The man's life was slipping away in front of him and there was nothing he could do—

SUGGEST ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE.

"What? What do you mean?" Harry didn't know what the Ring was saying to him. "How can I—"

"What did it say?" Illyana asked him.

"It said I should acquire the knowledge to help the Lantern," Harry replied. "But how am I going to learn how to heal—"

"Didn't you say this was a school?" Illyana said quickly. "Does it have a library?"

Harry nodded. "It does." He suddenly realized— "It _does_! Ring, can you read information from books?" AFFIRMATIVE. "How fast?" VERY FAST. "Then let's get to the Library!"

A green glow enveloped Harry and he shot off down the corridor before any of the teachers or Fudge could speak. After a few moments all four adults turned their gaze toward Illyana, who smiled sweetly at them as she stood holding her sword.

In seconds Harry had reached the Library and landed in the middle of the room, the ring on his hand held high. At her desk, Irma Pince, the librarian, looked up in annoyance. "Shh—" she began, then shrieked in surprise and ducked as a dozen beams shot from Harry's ring, causing shelf after shelf of books to glow. The beams moved across the room, from shelf to shelf, absorbing every jot and tittle of information in every book and scroll, every grimoire and manuscript, every rune carving and symbol.

ANALYSIS…COMPLETED. SOLUTION…READY. RETURN TO SUBJECT JORDAN FOR APPLICATION. Harry shot back toward the hospital wing, finding Illyana, the professors and Fudge as he'd left them. He flew straight through the doors, the green energy allowing him to pass through them, and landed next to the Lantern's bed.

"What do I do now?" Harry asked the ring, staring anxiously at the man. Jordan was his name, the ring had told him.

YOU MUST USE YOUR WAND TO CAST THE SPELLS, the ring told him. I AM TRANSFERRING THE SPELL WORDS AND SOMATICS TO YOUR MIND. Harry felt unfamiliar words and phrases flooding into his brain. It..._hurt_, almost as bad as his scar did sometimes, but that wasn't important if it helped Jordan survive. BEGIN.

Harry began casting spells. There were a _lot_ of spells to cast, so much healing to be done. After two minutes of casting he began to feel tired. This was something the green energy couldn't do for him — the magic had to come from him.

After four minutes Harry's arm was trembling with exhaustion. He had cast more spells in the past four minutes than in his entire fourth year of school! He hadn't even noticed that Illyana and the adults had come into the room behind him. He kept up the casting, even though he was on the verge of collapse.

Illyana caught him as he fell to his knees next to Jordan's cot. "How much more?" she whispered.

"Too — too much…" Harry gasped. "But — I have…keep…going…" He looked at her. "Help me up," he whispered.

"You need to rest," Illyana urged him. "You're pushing too hard."

"Mr. Potter—!" McGonagall, behind him, called out in concern. "Harry, don't—"

"I have an idea," Illyana said. She put her arms around his shoulders. A bright flash of light made everyone look away for a moment. When they turned back, Harry was up again and casting spells.

"What happened?" McGonagall whispered to Dumbledore. The ancient wizard merely shook his head. What Harry was doing was unprecedented in his long years of experience.

"Dumbledore," Fudged hissed. "You know we cannot let the boy keep that—"

Dumbledore put up a hand and the Minister fell silent, though his eyes remained on the glowing ring on Potter's hand.

After ten full minutes of spells, Harry finally took a staggering step back from the bed. "He'll make it," he breathed, looking at Illyana. "We did it."

"Incredible," Dumbledore breathed. McGonagall's eyes were wide and wet. Madam Pomfrey was staring in admiration at the young man who had done what she couldn't. Even Snape was silent, recognizing there was nothing he could say against the boy at this moment. Fudge's green bowler was twirling madly in his hands as he eyed the green ring on Harry's hand.

Harry turned to Pomfrey and the Headmaster. "He needs to rest while the bones in his legs and hand regrow," he said, shakily.

"That was quite amazing, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "You were able to learn the necessary magic in only a few minutes."

"The ring learned the magic," Harry mumbled. "It taught the spells to me, put them in my head. I was just providing the magic..." He pointed weakly at a nearby cot, and Illyana helped him over to sit on it. "I need to rest for a minute," Harry said, stretching out on the cot. He closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Illyana sat down on the bed next to Harry's. She looked over at the adults who were watching the two of them. "I'll watch over him while he sleeps," she said to them; her eyes were particularly on Fudge and Snape. "So nothing happens to him," she added, pointedly.

"Dumbledore," Fudge said softly, though it was obvious he wasn't speaking quietly in deference to the sleeping Harry. "We need to talk."

"As you wish, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied. He gestured toward the hospital doors. "Perhaps we should speak elsewhere." The Headmaster led the way out.

Illyana watched as the adults left the room, except for the nurse, who gave her a curious look before she went back into her office. After everyone was gone she let her Soulsword become ethereal again. The guy with the silly green bowler hat would bear watching, she decided. So would the guy with the long, greasy hair. Neither one of them seemed to like Harry very much.

She liked him. They were about the same age. And this place was interesting, too, however she'd managed to come here and meet him. A school full of magical students. Nothing like Xavier's school back in America, which was a lot more high-tech and sciency. There might be some things she could learn here, especially since her powers outside of Limbo were a lot more limited. At least the old guy who seemed to be running the school was curious about her, so maybe he'd give her a chance.

Illyana leaned back on her hands, wondering where she could get a bite to eat around here. Hopefully there was a burger place nearby.

-o=o-

High above the grounds of Hogwarts, the red-skinned alien slowed to a halt, hovering above the source of the green energy. The signal was weak — something was trying to mask it, the alien noted, but he could tell it was somewhere within the castle below him.

Moving lower, the alien cloaked himself in an aura of yellow energy, making himself invisible to detection as he observed the goings-on outside the castle. A large number of human children were gathered in stands to the west of the castle, surrounding a strange oblong growth of shrubs that were arranged into a maze of sorts. There were men in red robes preventing them from leaving the stands. Nearby, another group of men in red robes were leading away a man with light-colored hair wearing baggy clothing. Without context, none of this made sense.

But his ring was picking up conversations from below and translating them into his native tongue. There had been a tournament—a competition—and the two leading contenders had returned with one of them dead. The man being led away had pretended to be someone else and had been caught.

And there was something else. A very evil man, one thought to be dead, had returned and been captured, along with a group of his followers. They would be brought to a place called Azkaban, along with the man being led away now.

The red-skinned alien smiled thinly. He could use allies on this world to help him combat the other members of the Green Lantern Corps. He had his ring put a trace on the young man being taken away while he concentrated on finding a way to observe what was going on inside the castle.


	4. The Hero

.

**Chapter Four**

**The Hero**

_Updated 4/5/2015_

-o=o-

Harry stirred, feeling a bone-deep weariness in his body as he slowly awakened. He was in a bed, but not the bed in his Hogwarts dormitory, or even the small bed in his room on Privet Drive.

It was a hospital bed, which he should have recognized straightaway, having awakened in the hospital wing of Hogwarts more times than he cared to remember. His glasses were still on, so he must've fallen asleep when he'd lain down earlier. He glanced at the bed next to him, and started in surprise.

Several people were sitting there watching him. At the foot of the bed was Ron Weasley, his best mate, smiling gamely at him. Next to him was Hermione Granger, his other best friend. She had a worried look on her face that disappeared once she saw he was awake, replaced with a smile that nevertheless looked apprehensive and concerned.

Finally, near the head of the bed was the girl he'd just met, Illyana Rasputin. She gave a welcoming nod as she saw his eyes open and focus on her. "Have a nice nap?" she asked.

"Um, yeah," Harry said. "What's —" he started to sit up but his muscles protested, so he just asked, "What's going on? When did you two get here?"

"About a half-hour ago," Hermione answered. "We were so worried about you, Harry! The Aurors finally let us leave the Quidditch field—"

"It's called a pitch," Ron broke in, correcting her.

"Where the last task was," Hermione went on. "They took Barty Crouch away first. We've been trying to find out how you were doing! We finally went back to the common room —"

"We talked to Fred and George," Ron cut in again. "They told us you were in the infirmary, that there was a stranger that you brought here from somewhere —" he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, toward where the Green Lantern, Jordan, lay. "They said he gave you a magic green ring that could create anything you told it to. Is that true?"

"These two sure are nosy," Illyana commented.

"What's it to you?" Ron answered back, rather rudely. "We're Harry's friends! Who're you supposed to be?"

"Just someone he met while helping save that guy's life over there," Illyana retorted.

"_You_ helped save his life?" Hermione asked. "How?"

"I made sure Harry didn't die while trying to save him," she answered.

Ron snorted. "That sounds like a load of—"

"She helped me," Harry cut over him. He pushed himself painfully into a sitting position on his bed.

"How?" Hermione asked. "An Invigoration Draught?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know," he said. It was the truth. He had collapsed to his knees next to the Green Lantern's bed, unable to go on, then there was a flash of light and he felt renewed, stronger again. "What did you do?" he asked Illyana.

"Just gave you a little recharge," Illyana said, vaguely. She nodded toward Jordan. "What was amazing was how you gave him his arm and legs back, and his eye as well. That's pretty impressive magic."

Both Hermione and Ron were staring at the man with renewed interest. "Really, Harry?" Hermione said, startled by that news. "How could you have done that? Even trained Healers take days to regrow an arm or leg."

"It was this ring," Harry said. He held up his right hand, showing them the ring on his finger. "It was able to read the entire Hogwarts Library in about a minute—"

Hermione's eyes grew wide.

"— and use that information to help me heal him," Harry finished, letting his hand drop tiredly into his lap. "I had to use my magic to heal him, the ring's energy doesn't work that way."

"But —" Ron looked confused. "How did you learn all those spells, Harry? I mean, it's takes us days to learn a new spell sometimes!"

"The ring put the spells directly into my head," Harry said, tapping his temple. "It's like I know them all by heart now, like I've been able to cast them forever."

"Whoa," Ron murmured. "That would be _brilliant_."

"Harry," Hermione spoke tentatively. "Can you tell us what happened in the maze? If it's not too…painful for you, that is."

Harry took a deep breath. "The Tri-Wizard Cup was a Portkey," he said. "Cedric and I agreed to take it at the same time. It took us to a graveyard. Professor Dumbledore said it was in Little Hangleton, where Voldemort's father was buried." Ron flinched and shuddered as Harry said the Dark Lord's name.

"Wormtail was there. He killed Cedric —" Harry swallowed, but kept talking. "He tied me to a gravestone and brought out a big cauldron. Vo—er, You-Know-Who, was there as well, but he looked like a deformed child. Wormtail put him into the cauldron, along with — other stuff, including some of my blood, and You-Know-Who came out of it, like he was before, fully grown.

"He called his Death Eaters to him by pressing on Wormtail's Dark Mark. He wasn't happy with them, he said he was going to punish them. But first we were going to duel — he promised to kill me. That's when this ring showed up and helped me stop him."

Both Ron and Hermione had looks of horror on their faces. "How did you stop him?" Illyana asked curiously.

"The ring responds to willpower and creativity," Harry replied. "It told me whatever way I thought up to stop him and his men, it could create for me. I used the graveyard fence to bind You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters and pin them to the ground. Then I got Cedric—" Harry winced "—I mean, Cedric's body and brought him back here. That's when I found out that Professor Moody wasn't really Moody. He was Barty Crouch, Jr."

"Who was another Death Eater?" Illyana surmised. Harry nodded.

"So now what?" Illyana wanted to know. Harry stared at her blankly.

"I don't know what you mean," he finally said.

"Well, the bad guy's going away, all of his followers are going away," Illyana said. "That's the end of it, right?"

"No," Harry said, after a moment.

"No?" both Ron and Hermione sounded surprised. "Why?"

Harry pointed toward the Green Lantern. "He told me — whoever hurt him was coming after him," he said. "That's why he gave this ring to me, so I could protect—" he stopped, unsure just what it was he needed to protect. "He said—he said I needed to—" Harry concentrated, trying to remember what Jordan had said. "I needed to be prepared, because—because the man who was coming after him was the most dangerous man in the universe."

"In the _universe_?" Ron's voice went shrill. "That sounds pretty dangerous, Harry!"

"What else do you know about the man?" Hermione asked, looking anxious.

"Nothing else," Harry shook his head. "Jordan passed out before he could say anything about him."

"Why don't you ask the ring?" Illyana suggested.

"Huh?" Ron frowned at her. "What kind of crack is that?"

"A smart one," Illyana shot back. "The ring can communicate with Harry, and _it was there_ when Jordan fought the other guy. It ought to be able to tell Harry something about him." She looked at Harry. "Don't you think?"

"You're right," Harry agreed. He held up the ring in front of him. "Ring, tell me about the man Jordan fought before coming here." Remembering he wasn't alone, he added, "Can you say it aloud so everyone can hear?"

The ring flashed green. A three-dimensional image of a tall man appeared above it, rotating slowly. The man appeared to be tall and thin, with an unnaturally high forehead — it looked twice as high as a normal man's would — and a cruel face. Even though he was thin he was well-muscled. The uniform he was wearing looked similar to the one Jordan had been wearing, though it was black and yellow instead of black and green. The symbol on his chest was different. Jordan's symbol was a circle with a bar at the top and bottom, but the symbol on the tall man's chest was more complicated.

"_This is Thaal Sinestro_," the ring began speaking so they could all hear. "_He comes from the planet Korugar, in space sector 1417. He was chosen for the Green Lantern Corps by Prohl Gosgotha, who was injured and landed on his planet. Sinestro accepted the ring and defended Gosgotha from his pursuer, a Weaponer of Qward._

_ "After defeating the Weaponer, Sinestro returned to find Gosgotha still alive. Gosgotha requested his ring back in order to call for aid, but Sinestro refused, and Gosgotha died. Afterwards Sinestro became the Green Lantern of sector 1417."_

"Doesn't sound like a very nice guy," Illyana remarked.

Harry had to agree. "There's more," he said, and the ring resumed speaking.

"_Sinestro rose in importance in the Green Lantern Corps. He was assigned the task of training new Green Lanterns inducted into the Corps. He instructed Hal Jordan when Jordan was brought to Oa to meet the Guardians._

_ "When Jordan helped Sinestro repel the Khunds from Korugar, it was discovered that Sinestro had established a dictatorship on his home world, against the Code established by the Guardians. He was brought before the Guardians, expelled from the Corps and banished to the anti-matter universe of Qward, where he allied himself with the Weaponers. The Weaponers created a yellow power ring for Sinestro so he could combat the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro returned to this universe and has been attacking Green Lanterns across the galaxy, finally setting a trap for Hal Jordan which left him nearly dead. Jordan managed to return to Earth, where he sent out his ring to find someone worthy to replace him, finding you, Harry Potter," _the ring concluded. The image of Sinestro faded.

The four of them looked at one another as they thought about what the ring had shown them. "Whoa," Ron said at last.

"You ain't kidding," Illyana agreed. "That sounds like some pretty high-powered shit."

"Language!" Hermione said automatically.

"Are you kidding?" Illyana snorted. "Some guy is heading here with the power to take over _the entire world_, and you're worried about me saying a bad word?!"

"We understand the danger, but you don't have to be vulgar about it," Hermione said tartly.

"I _think_," Harry spoke up, before Hermione and Illyana could start an argument. "We need to take this to Professor Dumbledore. He'll know what we need to do."

"But, Harry," Illyana pointed out. "What if he agrees with that guy with the green hat that you shouldn't have that ring."

"Green hat?" Hermione said. "You mean Minister Fudge? He's here?"

"Yeah," Illyana told her. "He was here earlier with Dumbledore and two other teachers, a woman and some greasy-haired guy."

"Professor McGonagall and Snape," Harry said to Hermione.

"Do they know about the ring?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "They saw me heal Jordan. Snape tried to take the ring from me. Illyana stopped him."

Ron looked at her. "_You_ stopped Snape?" he said, surprised. "I wish I could've seen _that_! How'd you do it?"

"With this." Illyana put out her hand and her Soulsword appeared in it, gleaming brightly.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed, looking at the sword with excited interest. "Harry has a sword, too!" Illyana turned to Harry with an inquiring look.

"It's not _my_ sword," Harry averred. "It's the Sword of Gryffindor — that's the House we belong to." Harry indicated Ron, Hermione and himself. "I was fighting the Basilisk —"

"_You_ were fighting a Basilisk?" Illyana repeated, looking impressed again.

"He was saving my sister, Ginny," Ron put in eagerly.

Harry nodded. "I stabbed it in the brain through its mouth," he said. "One of its fangs got me, though, and the venom was killing me." He touched his arm where the Basilisk had wounded him. "But Fawkes came and saved me."

"Who's Fawkes?" Illyana asked.

"He's Professor Dumbledore's phoenix," Hermione volunteered.

Illyana looked at her. "He's got a _phoenix_?" she asked in amazement. "Wow, this place is full of surprises!"

She turned back to Harry. "I suppose it can't hurt to ask this Professor Dumbledore what you should do. But I wouldn't give up that ring if I were you. That Fudge guy, he doesn't seem very trustworthy to me. Neither does that Snape character."

"I have to agree with you there," Harry nodded. "Snape hates me. He and my father were enemies in school."

"And he's held a grudge all this time?" Illyana said. "Yeah, I wouldn't trust him at _all_."

"It's settled, then," Hermione said. "After you get some rest, Harry, we'll go talk to Professor Dumbledore."

But Harry got slowly to his feet. "No, we need to talk to him now. We don't know how much time we have before this Sinestro shows up."

"Hold on a minute, Harry," Hermione stood as well. "You can barely stand right now, much less fight someone like this Sinestro! You need to rest."

"We don't have time," Harry insisted. He started to take a step, but his legs buckled beneath him. Illyana and Ron both grabbed one of his arms, keeping him upright. They lowered him back onto his bed. "I _have_ to talk to Dumbledore," he said.

"Harry, I think you're right," Illyana said. "But you need to get better first."

Harry looked up at her. "You're right," he agreed. "So that's what I'm going to do." He held up his right hand. "Ring, where's my wand?"

YOUR WAND IS IN THE NURSE'S OFFICE the ring informed him. SHE TOOK IT FOR SAFEKEEPING UNTIL YOU RECOVERED.

"I need it now. Bring it to me."

A green beam shot from the ring into the nurse's office. It returned a moment later carrying Harry's wand, placing it in his right hand. Harry pointed the wand at himself. "_Rennervate_," he said. A pulse of energy shot into him, making him feel a little better, but not much.

"Harry, you can't cast that spell on yourself," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "You're just channeling your own energy back into yourself."

"You do it then," Harry said to her. "You and Ron should be able to cast the spell on me."

Hermione sighed, taking out her wand. "I still think you should rest some," she said. "But—" She pointed her wand at Harry's chest. "Here goes. _Rennervate_!"

This time the pulse of energy was much stronger. Harry sat up straighter. "Better," he said, nodding. "Do it again."

"I'll do it," Ron said, taking out his wand. "_Rennervate_!"

The two spells made Harry feel much better. He got to his feet again, feeling strong enough to walk now. "Let's go talk to Dumbledore," he said.

-o=o-

After almost an hour of trying to break through the mystical energies surrounding the castle, Sinestro had to admit defeat. It was galling. He possessed one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, and it was unable to break through the barriers put up by the inhabitants of this backwards planet! Admittedly, he wasn't using the full power of his ring—he only wanted to observe the inside of the castle at this time, not break through and make his presence known.

He would eventually find a way to overcome this mystical energy, Sinestro thought confidently. It was only a matter of giving his ring time to analyze and comprehend its composition and structure. The Weaponers of Qward had designed his ring to be superior to the Green Lanterns' rings. It was a masterwork of technology. For now, however frustrating it might be, at least he knew where Hal Jordan was. When he was better prepared he would return here and dispatch him once and for all.

For now, he would concentrate on the man who had been removed from this place: Barty Crouch, Jr. was the human's name. The trace his ring had placed on the human told him he was somewhere to the north and east of his current location. Perhaps he had been taken to where the others, this Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, were. He flew away to find them, to see if they might be useful in his mission to disrupt and destroy the Green Lantern Corps.


	5. The Villians

**.**

**Chapter Five**

**The Villians**

_Updated 4/11/2015_

-o=o-

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Illyana were barely clear of the infirmary doors before they flew open again and Madam Pomfrey appeared, looking at them all quite severely, and Harry most of all. "Mr. Potter! _Where_ do you think you are going?"

Harry turned to face her. "We have to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Someone is coming who could be very dangerous, both to the Green Lantern and everyone in school—we've got to tell him that!"

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey said. She pointed toward the hospital doors. "Get back in there and lie down. I'll see that the Headmaster visits you as soon as possible."

"But this can't wait!" Hermione spoke up. "Professor—"

"Professor Dumbledore is not in charge of the hospital wing," Pomfrey overrode her. "I am. Mr. Potter, you need to lie down until you're better. Now please obey me."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Harry said. "But this is more important." He turned and continued walking up the corridor, the other three students on his heels, and Madam Pomfrey stared at him with a mixture of outrage and admiration.

They had barely taken a dozen steps, however, before the Headmaster appeared at the other end of the corridor, followed by Professors McGonagall and Snape, and Minister Fudge. "Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said as he saw them. "I'm glad I found you—I would like a moment to discuss the events of the evening."

"I'm glad we found _you_, sir," Harry said, stopping as he and Dumbledore drew near to each other. He glanced at the other adults; Snape and Fudge's expressions were grim, and McGonagall looked rather unhappy, as if she were the bearer of bad news. Harry had a sinking feeling what the Headmaster wanted to talk about.

But it was McGonagall that spoke first. "Mr. Potter, we've discussed the matter of the ring and determined that it should be taken to the Department of Mysteries for further examination. I would like you to give it to me now." She stepped forward, her hand held out.

Harry took a step back. "There's something you need to know, first. The man I rescued told me that someone was following him to Earth, someone who was the most dangerous man in the universe." The adults looked startled by this — McGonagall gasped and Dumbledore's eyebrows rose, while Fudge looked at the professors in alarm. Snape merely looked as annoyed as he always did when Harry tried to tell the Headmaster something important.

"All the more reason for you to hand over the ring, Potter," Snape declared. "We will need to determine the ring's capabilities and see what it can tell us about this mystery man you say is coming to Earth — though that sounds like a wild story from an overactive imagination."

"It's not," Harry said firmly. "The ring told us all about him—he's from another planet that he tried to rule over as a dictator — the Green Lanterns stopped him and the Guardians exiled him to another universe, but he got a yellow power ring and he's back in our universe and attacking all the Green Lanterns."

Snape snorted derisively. "Obviously delusional. Potter, you may need some time in St. Mungo's. Hand over the ring."

"Harry, as Minister of Magic," Fudge chimed in. "I'm confiscating that ring as Ministry property and demand that you give up the ring immediately."

"You can't do that!" Hermione objected. "No one in the Ministry gave Harry that ring, and it's obviously not a magical object!"

"That doesn't matter!" Fudge snapped. "Potter's underage and as an orphan he is the responsibility of his legal guardian! Dumbledore, tell him to give us the ring!"

Harry stared at the Headmaster. "What — what is he saying, Professor?"

"Harry, it is true," Dumbledore spoke slowly, calmly. "When your parents died and Sirius was sent to Azkaban, I petitioned the Wizengamot to become your guardian." He gestured toward the Transfiguration professor. "Professor McGonagall became your alternate guardian should I be killed or become incapacitated. We want you to turn over the ring to Minister Fudge. You should not have to concern yourself about this person you believe is about to attack Earth."

"Hold on." Harry could scarcely believe what he'd just heard. "If you're my guardians, then _why have I been living with the Dursleys for the past thirteen years_?!" He voice rose to a shout on the final question.

"I've spoken to you concerning that matter," Dumbledore said. "Because of the blood protection living in your aunt's home provides you—"

"_Aren't you the most powerful wizard on Earth_?!" Harry demanded. "Isn't Hogwarts the safest place for me to be?!"

"Harry, it's not that simple—"

"Of _course_ it's that simple!" Harry shouted. "Why should I trust you _now_ when it's obvious you don't really care about me?!"  
"Harry, that's not true—" McGonagall said, her voice desperate.

"I DON'T CARE!" Harry roared. He turned and pointed the other way. "Run!" he shouted, and Ron, Hermione and Illyana took off in the opposite direction, with Harry following them.

"Those foolish —" Snape's wand was instantly out as he cast a Stunning Charm after Harry. A green shield appeared behind Harry, blocking the red stunner bolt. The four students disappeared around a corner.

Snape started to give chase, but Dumbledore caught his arm in a surprisingly strong hold. "Do not go after them, Severus. If Harry is correct, we should make preparations to fortify Hogwarts' defenses from this unknown adversary he spoke of."

"You don't really believe him, do you?" Snape looked incredulous.

"For the moment, we cannot afford not to believe him." Dumbledore turned and strode away, followed by McGonagall and the Minister. Reluctantly, Snape followed.

After the hallway had emptied, a large black dog padded into it and up to the hospital doors. Sniffing the floor, it set off in the direction Harry and the others had run off in.

-o=o-

Azkaban, sitting grimly on a barren, rocky island in the North Sea, was a tall, three-sided building build of iron and steel, the only materials that could resist the destructive presence of Dementors, the primary guardians of the Ministry's prison for Dark wizards and other lawbreakers the magical British government deemed worthy of incarceration.

Today the structure was buzzing with the news that a new group of prisoners had been added to its ranks today — including, amazingly, You-Know-Who, the most famous Dark wizard of recent history, who had vowed that he would never set foot inside the building, willingly or unwillingly. That boast had been proven wrong this day as Voldemort was led down into the Command Center for processing and internment.

The Dark Lord spoke to no one as he was led down to his cell at the bottom of the prison, where he would be closest to the majority of Dementors who inhabited the nest at the bottom of the hollow center of the iron and steel structure. Even his own followers were ignored as he passed by cell door after cell door, though some of the prisoners still possessed enough clarity to understand who was passing by. The Aurors guarding his passage were taunting him cruelly, promising that his stay would be short, as Dementors did not care who they drained of their minds and magic. No one was a friend to a Dementor.

As Voldemort passed into his new cell, Sinestro landed on the top of the roof, near the portal all new prisoners had entered, into what would likely be the last place they ever lived. The tall Korugarian tested the magical wards guarding the building — they were surprising light compared to the school where Jordan had found sanctuary. Probing deeper, he found that most of the magic was concentrated below him, in the levels below the top floor.

Moving toward the hollow center, Sinestro found magical wards preventing objects capable of magical flight from working inside the shaft. The magic didn't affect his ring, however. At the bottom of the shaft were — things. Very dark, very evil things. Sinestro smiled in anticipation, but an attempt to communicate with the things produced no response. It was as if his ring sensed nothing intelligent about them.

What it did sense was, oddly, a source of energy. The things at the bottom of the shaft were reservoirs of fear and desperation, the very emotional energy that fueled his ring. If they could be returned to Qward and placed inside the Yellow Power Battery, they would increase its power many times over. That could be desirable if he found humans here worthy of a Yellow Ring.

The yellow beam of Sinestro's power ring reached out to the portal door barring entrance to the command center below. The door was locked, and the locking mechanism seemed impervious to whatever force the Korugarian threw against it. Some mystical energy was preventing him from breaking the metal. Sinestro smiled grimly. Just how wide did that mystic energy extend?

The door and lock couldn't be broken, but the metal roof surrounding the portal was not similarly enchanted. It was no wonder—the metal roof was nearly a foot thick. But against the power of Sinestro's ring it may as well have been cardboard. Great yellow claws formed, tearing into the roof and ripping out a section a dozen feet in diameter. Sinestro threw the torn-off roof over the edge and flew down into the room below.

The Aurors, taken unawares, nevertheless were quick to open fire on the stranger who had someone breached Azkaban. Stunners and other curses bounced off the protective glow of Sinestro's ring. The tall, red-skinned alien looked about the room, calmly assessing the threat level of the building's defenders. The magic bolts and flashes were ineffective against his shielding. When he shot a bolt of yellow energy toward one of the humans, however, it was stopped by an invisible shield of some kind, evidently erected by the human's magic. Their magic and his yellow energy, therefore, were at a stalemate.

Sinestro's ring, however, could do more than create energy constructs. It could instill _fear_. Sinestro pointed his ring at the nearest human, who was frantically hurling spells at him. The ring flashed and the man froze. Fantastic, horrible images danced before his eyes. "No!" he shouted. "That can't be! My family is dead! NO!" Dropping his wand, the man fell over onto the floor, curling into a ball.

As other humans went to his aid, Sinestro exposed their greatest fear to each of them, causing them to pass out, to shriek in terror and begin cursing everyone else in the room, or to turn their wands on themselves. One human shouted "_Expecto Patronum_!" causing a silver animal to appear and run toward the tall alien, but it could not penetrate his shield. The human quickly succumbed to his own fears and the silver animal disappeared.

With all of the human guards thus incapacitated, Sinestro used his ring to locate the human named Barty Crouch, who had been placed in a cell near the bottom of the building. Phasing through the floors of the building, Sinestro entered his cell, finding the human slumped in a corner.

"Human," Sinestro said, using his ring to translate from his standard Korugarian language to the human's. "Why are you here?"

Crouch's eyes were hooded, almost unseeing. He had heard the strange being speaking to him, but the Dementors had already drained him of whatever happy thoughts he might have had before arriving here. "Human, speak!" Sinestro demanded. A beam from his ring enveloped Crouch, lifting him off the floor and holding him upright. "Why have you been brought here?"

"Found — out," Crouch said in a disjointed voice. "Potter found me. Figured out — who I was. Not that smart. I had to help him all year. He shouldn't have figured it out." He was looking at Sinestro without seeing him, as if he were speaking only to himself.

"Pah," Sinestro spat. "You are not worthy. Where is your master, the one they call Voldemort?"

Crouch's head jerked up. It was the first real sign of life he had displayed. "You _dare_ speak his name?! The Dark Lord rules us all, do not speak his name in vain —"

"No one rules Sinestro!" the alien growled, shaking Crouch like a rag dog. "Do you hear me, you filthy human?!" He threw the wizard back into the corner and flew into the corridor outside the cell. "_Hear me_!" he shouted, his ring amplifying and transmitting his voice so that it carried throughout the prison. "I am Sinestro! I seek the human called Lord Voldemort! Make your presence known to me!"

For long seconds there was silence. Then a voice shouted out, "Here I am!" Other voices followed. "I'm here!" "Over here, it's me!" "I'm the one you seek!"

Then a high clear voice spoke. "I am Lord Voldemort," it said, and Sinestro detected truth in those words, and those words alone. Flying to their source, he entered a cell on the very bottom level of the prison, finding inside a tall, pale man with snakelike features. The man was standing tall in spite of the Dementors that slowly drained him of life and vitality. But they could not steal his happiness, for he had very little to be happy about even before being brought here.

"What do you wish of Lord Voldemort," he said to the tall, oddly-shaped being standing before him.

"How would you like to rule this world?" Sinestro asked him.

-o=o-

Harry and the others kept running, going higher and higher in the castle, until they reached the seventh floor. "Where are we going?" Illyana finally asked, as Harry slowed to a walk to catch his breath.

"I—" Harry stopped, breathing heavily. The _Rennervate_ spells Ron and Hermione had cast on him had given him some energy, but he wasn't completely recovered. "I don't know." He looked at his fellow Gryffindors. "Back to the common room?"

"They'll come looking for us there," Hermione disagreed. "We need somewhere they won't think to look."

"Fred and George know every inch of the castle," Ron suggested. "Maybe they know someplace."

That made Harry think a moment. "Good idea," he agreed. "But we don't have to drag them into this." He held up his hand, the ring on his finger glowing bright green. A green beam shot off down the corridor.

"Drag them into this?" Ron repeated perplexedly. "You know they _love_ this kind of stuff! Look at everything they've been into this year with Bagman, and trying to get into the Tournament, and—"

But Ron's words trailed off as the beam returned, carrying at its end a large piece of parchment. The parchment flew into Harry's hands and he pulled out his wand and tapped it, saying, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Patterns began drawing across the parchment, forming a rooms, halls and stairways, along with secret and common passages. Dots began appearing, dots with a person's name next to each of them. "Oh, of course," Ron said, smacking himself on the forehead. "The Marauder's Map!"

"Right," Harry nodded. "I hope we can find someplace in the castle where nobody goes." He held out the Map so everyone could look at.

"This is the entire castle?" Illyana asked. "It's bigger than I thought."

"Eight floors," Hermione said, a little haughtily. "It has 142 staircases in it."

Illyana regarded her with an even stare. "Fascinating," she said, in a clearly sarcastic tone. She turned back to Harry. "So anything jumping out at you?"

"No," Harry said glumly. There didn't seem to be any place in the castle devoid of moving dots. "There's no place on the Map we can go."

"So what do we do?" Ron asked. He looked at Hermione.

She looked back at him, mildly annoyed. "Don't look at _me_, Ron. Maybe we could hide in the kitchens with the house-elves."

Ron looked interested at that. "I could use a bite about now," he admitted. Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Oh, look!" Illyana suddenly pointed down the corridor. "A doggy!"

The large black dog that had followed them from the hospital ward padded up to them, its tail wagging. The dog looked up at Harry with something like a grin on its face as Illyana stepped over and began petting it. "He's so cute!" The dog's tail wagged even harder.

"That's not a dog," Ron said. "That's — ouch!" he stopped talking and began rubbing his side where Hermione had elbowed him.

"It's okay, Sirius," Harry said, gesturing to Illyana. "She'll keep your secret, too."

"What secret?" Illyana asked. She took a step back as the dog's form suddenly shifted, becoming a tall, dark-haired man with thin yet handsome features.

The tall man smiled at her. "I'm Sirius," he said.

"Me, usually not so much," Illyana retorted. "Serious, that is."

"Illyana, this is Sirius Black. He's my godfather," Harry said. "I'm glad you're here," he said seriously, to Sirius. "I've got this ring —"

"I know, Harry," Sirius broke in. "I was waiting in Dumbledore's office to see you after the Tournament when he came in with McGonagall, Snape and the Minister. I turned into Padfoot and sat in a dark corner while they discussed taking the ring from you." He shook his head angrily. "Bloody Snape! He kept insisting you were too 'unstable' to use the thing! He needs taking down a few pegs."

"There's bigger problems than Snape," Harry informed him. "Someone's coming here to kill Jordan, the man that had this ring. Jordan told me the man was the most dangerous person in the universe, and this ring gave me information on him. He's got a ring like this, but it uses yellow energy instead of green."

Sirius was staring at the ring on Harry's finger. "Where does this green energy come from?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Harry said. He hadn't thought about it until Sirius's question. "I thought it was inside the ring."

"We still have to find someplace where they won't find us," Ron reminded them.

"Any ideas?" Harry asked Sirius. "I've got the Marauder's Map here…"

Sirius thought for several seconds. "I can't think of anyplace offhand. Maybe one of the house-elves would have an idea."

"I don't think the house-elves like us much right now," Ron said, giving Hermione a hard look. "Hermione kept knitting caps for them, so they've all stopped cleaning Gryffindor Tower because of it." Hermione glared back at him.

"I can think of one elf who might help," Harry said, then called out, "Dobby!"

There was a soft _crack_ and a small, oddly-shaped humanoid appeared in front of Harry. It had enormous ears and tennis-ball sized eyes, and was clothed in a pillowcase and about a half-dozen knitted caps on each of its ears. "Dobby is coming at Harry Potter's call," the elf said happily, bowing until his nose almost touched the floor. Extraordinarily, all of the caps remained on his ears as he bowed.

"Dobby, I have a question," Harry said. "We need to find someplace in the castle where we can stay without Professor Dumbledore or the other teachers finding us. Or anyone, really, not even the ghosts. Do you know anyplace like that?"

"Of course, Harry Potter!" Dobby said happily. "Dobby knows just the place sir can use!"


	6. The Room

.

**Chapter Six**

**The Room**

_Updated 4/18/2015_

-o=o-

"Where is this place?" Harry asked.

"It is the Room of Requirement, sir," Dobby answered immediately.

"What's that?" Ron wondered. "I've never heard of that room, Fred and George never mentioned it."

"Neither have I," Sirius added. "And we put every place we could find in Hogwarts on the Marauders Map. Dobby, what's this 'Room of Requirement' supposed to be?"

"It is a room known to all house-elves," Dobby answered. "It is also known to house-elves as the Come and Go Room."

"Why is it called _that_?" Illyana asked.

"Because it comes and it goes," Dobby answered, in all seriousness.

"Well, _duh_," Illyana snarked.

"She means," Harry translated, "why do you say it comes and goes? Why is it called the Room of Requirement? What does that mean?"

"Ah!" Dobby nodded understanding, his long ears flapping. "It is a room a person can only enter when they have a real need of it. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker's needs." The house-elf fidgeted guiltily. "Dobby has used it, sir, when Winky has been very drunk — he has hidden her in the Room and he has found antidotes to butterbeer there, and a nice elf-sized bed for her to sleep it off on, sir. Dobby knows Mr. Filch has found extra cleaning materials there when he has run short, sir, and—"

"And if you really needed a bathroom," said Harry, suddenly remembering the story Dumbledore had told him at the Yule Ball the previous Christmas, "would it fill itself with chamber pots? That's what happened to Professor Dumbledore."

"Dobby expects so, sir," said Dobby, nodding earnestly. "It is a most amazing room, sir."

Harry looked around at the others. "What do you think?"

"It sounds brilliant," Ron said, looking convinced.

"It does," Hermione agreed.

"_If_ it will let us in," Sirius sounded more dubious.

"How many people know about it?" Harry asked Dobby.

"Very few, sir. Mostly people stumbles across it when they needs it, sir, but often they never finds it again, for they do not know that it is always there waiting to be called into service, sir."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Illyana said impatiently. "Let's go check it out!"

"Will you show us where it is?" Harry asked Dobby.

"Of course, Harry Potter!" Dobby started off down the corridor, away from the common room. "Follow Dobby!" Harry and the others fell in step behind him.

-o=o-

"I _will_ rule the world," Voldemort told the tall, red-skinned man imperiously, "once I have made my escape from this pitiful excuse of a prison."

Sinestro smiled contemptuously. "I think not. You no longer have the stick you need to focus your mystical energies. Don't look so surprised, human," he added, when Voldemort reacted to that statement. "I have learned much of your kind in the past few hours, and much of you in the few seconds I have been here.

"You think yourself the most powerful wizard on this planet," Sinestro continued, floating down to stand on the floor in front of the Dark Lord. "Yet I subdued over a dozen wizards in mere seconds with the help of this ring." He held up his yellow Power Ring for Voldemort to see.

"You know nothing of me," Voldemort said coldly.

"Oh no? I know your true name is Tom Marvolo Riddle," Sinestro declared. Voldemort's red eyes widened momentarily, then narrowed to slits. "I know you were born to a non-magical human named Tom Riddle and a witch named Merope Gaunt, who used a love potion on your father to bind him to herself. That she stopped giving the potion to him in the deluded hope he would love her for herself and for the child she was to bear him. But instead he rejected her and threw her out. That she died giving birth to you, after naming you for her husband's father and for hers. That you grew up alone in an orphanage in London. That you learned you could do strange things, like make animals do as you willed. You could make people hurt just by thinking at them. That you could make objects move without touching them. That you learned when you were 11 that you were a wizard, and began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Shall I go on?"

Voldemort said nothing to this at first. This — being — seemed able to plumb his deepest thoughts at will, even without direct eye contact. He had no wand, but he did seem to wield the yellow ring on his hand, just as Potter had somehow obtained a green ring and bested him and his Death Eaters. "You learned all this with your ring?" he asked.

"All that and more," Sinestro nodded. "This ring is the most powerful weapon in this or any other universe. The rings of green power, which you were just thinking of, have a weakness against the color yellow. That is why this ring is superior to them."

"What do you offer me, then?" Voldemort wondered. "Do you have another of these rings?"

"I do," Sinestro nodded. "I offer them to you and your followers IF you will swear allegiance to me and my cause."

"And what is your cause?"

"The destruction of all the Green Lanterns in the universe."

-o=o-

"Here is the place, Harry Potter!"

Harry looked at the blank wall. It was opposite a large, moth-eaten tapestry of a wizard named Barnabas the Barmy. He was called "Barmy" because one of his hare-brained ideas had been to teach trolls to perform ballet. However, the trolls had had other ideas — they expressed their displeasure of ballet by taking their clubs to Barnabas, as the tapestry showed. "Er— here?" he asked, pointing to the blank wall.

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dobby nodded vigorously.

"Not really seeing it, Dobby," Illyana commented. "How do we get in?"

"Harry Potter must walk past this wall three times, thinking very, very hard about what he needs," Dobby explained.

"Sounds pretty easy," Illyana said, glancing toward Harry, who was still looking a bit wobbly as he stood there. "Are you up for that, Harry, or do you want one of us to try it?"

"I'll try it," Harry said. "But first —" He unfolded the Marauder's Map. "Let's see, Filch is… ah, there he is, in his office."

"Where's Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked, looking over the Map in Harry's hands. "_There_ she is! Third floor, other side of the castle. Nowhere near us."

Hermione was peering over Harry's other shoulder. "And Professor Dumbledore is— I see him in his office. And all the staff are there as well."

"That's strange," Sirius muttered. "I wonder what they're all doing…?"

"They're not looking for us," Harry said. "At least, I hope not."

"They might be," Sirius remarked, matter-of-factly. "Dumbledore can probably find you through the Trace."

Everyone turned to look at him. "What the heck is _that_?" Ron demanded.

Sirius shrugged. "It's a spell put on every child born in Britain. The Ministry uses it to tell exactly where you are and if any magic is being cast near you. They use it to determine if an underage witch or wizard is using magic out of bounds."

Harry, Ron and Hermione were staring at him, openmouthed. "Sirius, are you ser— are you kidding us?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"No," Sirius said, with a wry shake of his head. "That's how they knew you used magic at your aunt and uncle's home the summer before your second year."

"But I didn't!" Harry protested. "Dobby did that!"

Dobby looked horrified. "Dobby is so sorry he caused Harry Potter trouble!" he wailed. "But it was for Harry Potter's own good! It was very dangerous for Harry Potter to come to school that year because of—"

Harry put up his hands. "Hold on. That's not important right now. Let me do what you said to make the Room of Requirement appear to us." He fell into step in front of the bare patch of wall, concentrating intently as he strode back and forth:

_ We need somewhere to hide from everyone who wants to take this ring from me. Just give us a place to hide…somewhere they can't find us._

"Harry!" Hermione said sharply, as Harry finished his third pass in front of the wall. Harry turned.

A large, polished oaken door had appeared in the wall. Ron was staring warily at it, while Illyana was smiling and softly applauding Harry. Sirius grunted in surprise as the door appeared. Harry reached out, took the door's brass handle, and pulled open the door. He led the way into a spacious room lit with blazing torches like those on the walls of the dungeons, eight floors below them.

"Whoa," Ron said, looking around after they were inside. "This is brilliant!"

The room looked like a classroom without any desks, but was otherwise unremarkable. Sirius, the last person inside, closed the oak door behind him, noticing a large brass key in the lock. Absently he turned it, hearing a loud _click_ as the door locked. "Not a bad setup," he commented, looking around. He walked over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing. "Where does the Map show we are now?"

Harry held up the Map, but after a minute of searching he announced, "I don't find us anywhere on here!" He looked at Sirius. "Does the Map use that Trace spell you mentioned to locate us?"

"No," Sirius shook his head. "The Trace vanishes once you're of legal age, so you can't locate adults using it. I don't know how the Map does it — Remus found a way for it to locate anyone on the grounds of Hogwarts, even ghosts and animals."

"But once we leave this room, the Ministry can use the Trace to find us, right?" Harry asked, in a troubled tone.

"Afraid so," Sirius agreed.

"Hmm," Illyana mused. "I may have a way to fix that." She held out her hand and her Soulsword shimmered into existence. "Don't move, Harry." Before Harry or anyone could protest, she swung the sword at him.

Harry gasped as the sword passed through his torso. Hermione screamed and Ron shouted as Sirius lunged toward Illyana, grabbing her arm and immobilizing her. She made no move to defend herself.

But instead of falling to the floor cut in two, nothing had happened to Harry. He looked down at himself where the sword had passed through him, feeling his midsection. "What did you do?" he asked Illyana, as Sirius slowly let go of her.

"My sword can break magic spells," Illyana said. "I used it to 'cut' the Trace from you. Now nobody can use it to locate you." She turned to Ron and Hermione. "I can do the same for you two, if you want."

A minute later all three Gryffindors were free of the Trace. "I can't believe I'd never heard of that spell," Hermione said, vexed at her ignorance.

"Don't be," Sirius told her. "You may think of it as being restrictive, but it comes in handy if we ever have to find you when you're lost."

Harry was looking at his friends, his godfather and Dobby, wondering if there was some way they could help with the Sinestro problem. _Ring_, he thought, _if I wanted my friends to have rings like you, how would I go about getting them_?

I AM CAPABLE OF CREATING DUPLICATES OF MYSELF, the Ring responded. _Good_, Harry nodded. _Is there any problem if you create, say, five duplicates, one for each person here_?

NO PROBLEM, the Ring told him. HOWEVER, EACH RING MUST BE RECHARGED ONCE PER PLANETARY ROTATION, INCLUDING THIS POWER RING.

_Recharged? How do I recharge you_? Harry asked.

WITH THE OAN POWER BATTERY, the ring replied.

_Where is this power battery_?

THE POWER BATTERY IS CURRENTLY HELD BY GREEN LANTERN JORDAN, LOCATED IN THE HOSPITAL WING.

"Oh." Harry didn't remember seeing the Green Lantern with anything that might be a "power battery." "How long until I need to recharge the ring — I mean, recharge you?" The others heard him talking and were listening to his side of the conversation.

REMAINING CHARGE WILL END IN 25 MINUTES.

Not much time, Harry realized. "Can you bring me the power battery so I can recharge you?" he asked.

NEGATIVE. GREEN LANTERN JORDAN RETAINS POSSESSION OF THE POWER BATTERY UNTIL TERMINATION OF ALL LIFE SIGNS. POSSESSION OF THE BATTERY THEN PASSES TO THE POSSESSOR OF THIS RING.

"But Jordan's not going to die now," Harry said. "Right?"

CORRECT.

There didn't seem to be any other option. "I have to go down to the hospital wing," Harry said. "Jordan has a power battery that I need to recharge the ring."

No one spoke for several seconds.

Then, "Well, let's get going!" Illyana declared.

"It may not be that simple," Hermione cautioned. "If they're trying to find us they could have the portraits on the lookout if we walk by them."

"So let's use the Cloak of Invisibility," Ron suggested.

"I don't think all six of us can fit under it," Harry said. "Someone will have to stay here."

Sirius looked unhappy, but said, "I'll stay. If Snape sees me he'll run to the Minister, who'll call in Aurors. I'd rather not go back to Azkaban, seeing's how I didn't kill Pettigrew."

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But we still have to get down to the hospital ward without anyone seeing us, and using the Cloak's too slow." He looked at Illyana. "Can you do your disc thing?"

"Piece of cake," Illyana said, grinning.

-o=o-

Voldemort was silent as he considered Sinestro's offer, his mind unusually devoid of conscious thought, knowing the alien was easily capable of reading them. "I accept your proposal," he said at last. "I and my followers will devote ourselves to your cause, provided you teach us how to use these rings effectively."

"That I will do," Sinestro agreed. He took a step toward the Dark Lord. Though Voldemort was taller than he'd been as Tom Riddle, Sinestro still towered over him. "But be warned, human. I know the treacheries of your kind. If you even dare think of betraying me, I will burn you down without a second thought. Do we understand one another?"

"I understand," Voldemort nodded, his mind still blank.

"Hold out your left hand," Sinestro ordered. "And make a fist."

Voldemort did as he was told. Sinestro placed his fist against Sinestro's. The yellow ring flashed brightly. Voldemort felt solid metal form on his ring finger.

"While you wear this ring, there is an oath to recite once per day." Sinestro said. "Repeat these words after me:

"_In blackest day, in brightest night,  
__Beware your fears made into light.  
__Let those who try to stop what's right  
__Burn like my power Sinestro's might!"_

When Voldemort had finished repeating these words, Sinestro said, "You are now a part of the Sinestro Corps. Take me to the rest of your followers to receive their rings." Turning to the cell door, Sinestro hit it with a power beam, tearing it off its hinges. They stepped out into the corridor, a yellow glow now surrounding both men.

"I don't feel the Dementors pressing against my mind anymore," Voldemort said in surprise.

"The ring protects you from harm," Sinestro told him. "The emotivores can be a sources of energy for our rings, which uses the power of fear as its energy source."

Voldemort nodded, pretending understanding, all the while managing not to think of what he and his followers would do once they were empowered with yellow rings and trained in their use: they would overpower this Sinestro and take his ring, using it to control first Britain, then Europe, and in time — the world.


	7. The Lantern

.

**Chapter Seven**

**The Lantern**

_Updated 4/25/2015_

-o=o-

A bright flash filled the hospital ward as four young adults and a house-elf suddenly appeared there, standing atop a bright white disc that vanished as quickly as it had appeared. They stood before the bed of the unconscious man Harry had rescued hours earlier from a mountain in Scandinavia.

"Thanks," Harry said to Illyana. He turned to Ron and Hermione. "Lock the hospital doors," he told them. "Dobby," he said to the house-elf. "Can you watch and let us know if Professor Dumbledore or any other teacher comes this way? I need to talk to Mr. Jordan and find out where this power battery he's supposed to have is."

"Dobby will go at once, Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked happily, then vanished with a soft _crack_.

Harry knelt down next to the unconscious man. "Mr. Jordan?" he spoke softly so as not to startle him. "Can you hear me?" Jordan didn't respond.

Illyana had gone around to the other side of Jordan's bed. "Harry, he's still recovering from all those repairs you did to his body," she said, shaking her head. "I don't think he's going to wake up for a while."

"I _need_ to find that power battery," Harry said. "We don't know when Sinestro's going to return or who he'll have with him, but we can't let him take Mr. Jordan! He tried to kill him before — there's no reason to think he won't try again!"

"You're right," Illyana agreed. She looked down at the Green Lantern. "Well, I did it for you; there's no reason why I shouldn't do it for him."

"Do what?" Harry asked.

"You'll see," Illyana said. She placed a hand on Jordan's chest—and a stepping disc suddenly appeared beneath them, flashing brightly and making Harry blink stars out of his eyes. When the stars faded a moment later, he looked down to find Jordan awake and moaning in pain.

"Ouch. Ouch," Jordan groaned. "Man, that _hurts_." He looked up at Harry. "Hey, kid," he said, smiling and putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Thanks for saving me from Sinestro. I was in a pretty bad way back there when you found me." He nodded at his two intact legs. "And thanks for giving me my legs again. About the only thing worse than being a Green Lantern with no legs is being one with no hands," he grinned.

"Well, you were one hand short of being that way, too," Illyana, who'd reappeared opposite Harry, remarked.

"True," Jordan agreed. He held out his hand to Harry. "Hal Jordan. I guess the ring told you my name."

"Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you, sir," Harry said, shaking his hand. Seeing the ring, Jordan turned Harry's hand so he could look at it.

"It looks good on you, Harry," Jordan said. "Give me a few more hours and you may not need to keep it—I'll be ready to take on Sinestro again myself."

"Are you sure?" Harry certainly wasn't sure. "A few seconds ago you were unconscious and not responding to me at all."

"Well, that was before—" Hal stopped and looked at Illyana, uncertain what to say. "Um, maybe she ought to tell you."

"What did you do?" Harry asked her.

"It's pretty simple," Illyana said, smiling. "I've got this little pocket dimension called Limbo—"

"Oh, surely not _Limbo_," Hermione said from near the hospital doors. "Isn't that just a place certain religions believe is the abode of unbaptized children?"

"Limbo is just one of its names," Illyana replied. "It's also called Otherplace. It was once ruled by a demon named Belasco, who controlled it, everyone and everything that existed there."

"What happened to him?" Ron asked, worried that this new guy might show up on Earth as well.

"He made the mistake of kidnapping me there," Illyana said, levelly. "Once I'd learned enough magic, I threw him out and took over the place for myself."

"Why are you telling us this?" Harry wanted to know.

"The laws of time and space don't mean much in a place like Limbo," Illyana explained. "I was there for seven years before I deposed Belasco, and when I returned to Earth only a few seconds had passed since my team mates had escaped from it. From their perspective, I had aged seven years in mere seconds."

She pointed to Jordan. "I just did the same thing with Hal here. He and I popped into Limbo for a few days, giving him time for his bones to regrow and him to recover some of his strength. But from _your_ perspective, less than a second elapsed. When he came to, I filled him in on the situation and what we'd learned while he was unconscious."

"Which reminds me," Hal said, raising his left hand. As he did, a green object he was holding shimmered into existence. "You probably need to recharge the ring. That's what Illyana told me."

Harry stared at the power battery. It did resemble a green lantern, though unlike a normal lantern it was colored entirely green, and was glowing with green energy, just like his ring. In the center he could see the bright green orb that the energy flowed from. Automatically Harry placed his right hand in the battery, touching the orb with his ring, and recited the Oath:

_In brightest day, in blackest night,  
__No evil shall escape my sight!  
__Let those who worship evil's might,  
__Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!_

Harry could feel power flowing into the ring as he recited the oath. He looked at Hal, who had been mouthing the words along with him. "It's a poweful feeling," Harry said, staring at the ring. "Reciting those words, I mean."

"Agreed," Hal nodded. "I remember the first time _I_ recited the oath, after Abin Sur gave me the ring. For a long time I thought I was the only person in the universe with one of those rings. I finally learned there are many, many other Green Lanterns, just like me."

"3600 in all," Harry said, remembering information the ring had placed in his brain.

"One for each sector of the galaxy," Hal said. "Controlled by the Guardians, who live on Oa in Sector Zero at the center, taking care of the Central Power Battery, where all of the Green Lanterns get their energy."

Harry nodded somberly. It seemed like his idea to make Green Lanterns of Sirius, Dobby and his friends had been somewhat misguided. "Mr. Jordan," he said. "When you're ready to take back the ring, just let me know."

"Not so fast, Harry," Hal said, smiling. "I gave the ring to _you_. I didn't think I was going to make it, and the ring and I both know you've got the courage to fight Sinestro. From what Illyana told me, other people have tried to take the ring from you, but you haven't let them."

Harry nodded.

"Good," Hal said. "Don't. Don't even let _me_ take it, if it comes to that. I can help you fight Sinestro, if you want me to. In fact, it might be better if we use more than just one or two people to fight him. Because of an impurity in the ring, it's not effective against the color yellow, which is why Sinestro uses a yellow ring."

Harry nodded again. "I was thinking I could make duplicates of the ring," he said. "And give it to some people here, to help me fight him."

"It's a good idea," Hal agreed. "But you'll need to be sure they're worthy—not everyone can use one of these rings effectively—some not at all. The ring will evaluate a prospective ring-bearer and make a ring for them only if they pass evaluation."

"I see," Harry said. "Mr. Jordan, do you—"

"You can call me Hal, Harry," Jordan suggested.

"Hal, do you feel good enough to come with us?" Harry asked. "I have a few people in mind for these rings, and I'd like to do it somewhere teachers won't be able to find us."

Hal stretched his arms and legs, grunting with some pain, but— "Everything seems to be working okay now. That time I spent in Limbo—or wherever it was—did me a lot of good." He stood, turning and stretching a little more. "I'm ready."

"Illyana, would you—?" Harry asked her.

"Sure." Illyana came around the bed, gesturing for Ron and Hermione to join them. "Dobby!" she said loudly, before Harry could.

Dobby appeared a moment later. "Dobby hears you, Illyana Rasputin," he said, covering his large ears. "You doesn't have to shout."

"All aboard," Illyana said.

"Aboard what?" Hal asked, looking around just as a white stepping disc appeared below them, flashing brightly as it transported them back to the Room of Requirement.

-o=o-

_In the Headmaster's office—_

Albus and the staff of Hogwarts lowered their wands. The wards protecting the school had been renewed, reinforcing them, and Dumbledore had added additional protections as well, spells guarding against normal physical attacks as well as magical and Dark ones. "Very good," he pronounced, looking at each of the teachers in turn as well as Minister Fudge, who had watched them but hadn't participated. "We should be able to withstand an attack from outside forces, even ones that use energy weapons like the ring Harry has."

"That's all very well and good, Dumbledore," Fudge said impatiently. "But with You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters off to Azkaban, I should finish my business here and get back to Headquarters. We still need to get that ring from Potter!"

"What ring?" Professor Sprout asked. She looked around at the other teachers, many of whom simply shrugged or shook their heads.

"Young Mr. Potter has somehow acquired a ring of tremendous power," Dumbledore explained. "It was given to him, he said, by a man in a rather colorful body suit whom he found injured somewhere." He went on to explain how Harry had somehow been able to learn numerous healing spells and use them to heal the man he had found from near-death, even going as far as regrowing an arm, both legs and an eye in a matter of minutes.

"That's amazing," Professor Vector exclaimed, and the others who had just heard this news agreed. "Truly, such power should not be in the hands of a student, not even Harry Potter!"

"I concur," Professor Snape agreed. "We have been trying to get the ring from Potter but he refuses to part with it. No doubt he has the same delusions of grandeur that his father suffered from."

"That is not Mr. Potter's problem," McGonagall objected. "In spite of your dislike of his father, Professor Snape, Harry has been a very conscientious, if mostly average student here at Hogwarts. From what I have observed in just the past few hours, he has been trying to protect people and the school from harm!"

"Be that as it may, Professor," Fudge harrumphed, "I still want that ring studied by our Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries! If it was powerful enough to somehow give Potter the knowledge to heal the injured Muggle, it could be very dangerous in the wrong hands!"

"Agreed, Minister," McGonagall nodded, though she could see that the irony of what Fudge had said was lost on him. "It _could_ be very dangerous in the wrong hands!"

"So you're with me on this, then!" Fudge crowed, thinking he was in the right. Professors Snape, Vector and Sinistra nodded agreement; the other professors kept their opinions to themselves.

"Indeed," Dumbledore spoke up now, "I think we all agree that Harry should surrender the ring to the proper authorities." He stepped over to a spindly table holding an assortment of silver instruments, tapping one resembling an eye atop a pyramid and saying, "Harry Potter" as he did so. The eye began rotating back and forth, emitting _wheep-wheep_ sounds as it did, until it shot a puff of smoke from the iris of the eye. The smoke wafted through the air, forming a shaft around which a stream of smoke swirled. The swirl of smoke expanded at the tip, forming a snake's head: it was the rod of Asclepius, the symbol of medicine.

"Young Harry is in the hospital wing," Dumbledore announced. He pointed his wand at the doors of his office and they opened, giving the staff access to the rotating staircase that would take them to the entrance of the Headmaster's office. "Minerva," he said to McGonagall, "you and I will talk to Harry about this—the rest of you may go about your normal activities, and thank you for helping to fortify the castle's defenses." The staff filed out of the room, going down the stairs, until only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Fudge were left. Snape remained behind as well.

"Severus," Dumbledore said mildly, "I don't believe your presence is required for this conversation."

Snape stared at the Headmaster for a long moment, then nodded stiffly and left the office as well, disappearing down the stairs.

"Well?" Fudge demanded, after Snape had left. "Hadn't we better get down to the infirmary?"

"We will, Cornelius," Dumbledore murmured, glancing toward the stand where his phoenix, Fawkes sat, seemingly asleep. McGonagall sighed, not relishing the prospect of phoenix flame travel—it was rather an unpleasant feeling, to her mind. "Will you and Minerva take hold of my sleeves, and do not let go."

"What's this all about?" Fudge asked irritably, not understanding what Dumbledore planned.

"You will see," Dumbledore said, raising his arms in front of himself. "Fawkes!"

The phoenix immediately launched itself into the air, flying over the Headmaster and lowering its tail, which Dumbledore reached up and grasped with both hands. Fawkes, Dumbledore and his two passengers were engulfed in flames and vanished, arriving a moment later in the corridor outside the hospital ward.

"Merlin's beard!" Fudge exclaimed, jerking his hand away from Dumbledore's robe. "You might have given a fellow warning, Dumbledore!"

"My apologies, Cornelius," Dumbledore offered, though his eyes were twinkling with amusement. "As you will agree, time was of the essence."

"Yes, yes," Fudge muttered. "Well, let's get this over with, then."

Nodding, Dumbledore entered the hospital ward, only to find it empty—even the injured man was no longer in the bed he'd been lying in earlier. "Oh, dear," he murmured. "Apparently time was of more importance than even I imagined. Harry is no longer here."

"Headmaster!" Dumbledore turned to see Madam Pomfrey bustling toward him from her office. "Are you looking for Harry and the other students?"

"Yes, Poppy," Dumbledore replied. "Do you know where they are?"

"They were here only seconds ago!" Pomfrey told him. "I was watching and listening from my office, and Mr. Potter came back to talk to the man he'd brought in." She looked quite shaken. "I don't mind telling you, Headmaster, that some very strange things have been going on around here! A Muggle that can resist the castle protection wards! A girl who can perform strange magic! And Harry Potter with a ring that lets him perform healing magic beyond anything even a Master Healer can do! And now they've all run off with that strangely-garbed man to some place they called the 'Room of Requirement'!" she finished.

"The Room of Requirement?" Dumbledore echoed. "I don't believe I've ever heard of that room." He turned to McGonagall. "Have you, Minerva?"

"No," McGonagall said. "Not even while I was attending Hogwarts myself."

"Nor I," Dumbledore agreed, as Fudge shook his head. "Strange. As Headmaster I am aware of every room, every staircase, every corridor and passage in the school, yet I have never come across a room that might have a name like that."

"Well, obviously _Potter_ has heard of it!" Fudge exclaimed. "Perhaps he found it with that ring he's got! All the more reason, Dumbledore, to get it away from him as soon as possible!"

"That may be easier said than done, Cornelius," Dumbledore warned. "If Harry has access to knowledge we lack. We may be forced to treat with him on more equal terms if has access to knowledge and power we do not."

"Preposterous!" Fudge said heatedly. "He _has_ to give up that ring!"

"And if he does not agree with you?" Dumbledore fixed the Minister with a penetrating stare. "How will you force him to hand it over?"

"Well—but—but that's _your_ job, Headmaster!" Fudge nearly shouted. "He's your student, he _has_ to obey you!"

"Normally, I would agree with you," Dumbledore said, pondering the implications of what Harry had said about him being able to remove him from his aunt and uncle's home. Outside of Hogwarts itself, the Dursleys remained the safest place Harry could stay, yet if they were not treating him with the care and compassion Petunia should be showing her nephew, a blood relative, as he Dumbledore had naturally expected they would, perhaps Harry had cause to be upset with him. "However, circumstances at his Muggle relatives may not have been what I thought they should be."

"That's not important right now!" Fudge dismissed Dumbledore's concerns with a wave of his hand. "What's important is learning what that ring is capable of!"

"To do that, Cornelius, we must locate Harry Potter and convince him to turn it over," Dumbledore reminded him. "And if it's necessary to point this out once again, none of us knows where this Room of Requirement is located."

"Then ask someone who does!" Fudge demanded. "There must be _someone_ in this school who knows!"

"If Harry discovered it with the aid of that ring, it does not follow that anyone else at Hogwarts knows," Dumbledore said diffidently. "Mrs. Norris," he addressed a thin, dusky-looking cat that had slipped unobtrusively into the hospital ward and was watching them with bulging yellow eyes. "Would you please have Argus report to the hospital ward as soon as possible, please?"

The cat immediately slipped out through the hospital doors. Less than a minute passed before the old caretaker entered the ward, his rheumy eyes focusing on Dumbledore. "Yes, Headmaster?" he asked obsequiously.

"Thank you for coming, Argus," Dumbledore said politely. "Have you by chance ever heard of a room in the castle called the Room of Requirement?"

Filch scratched absently at a stubbly chin. "Can't say as I have, Headmaster," he rasped moments later. "Don't think I've ever heard of a student mentioning it, either. What's this about, then?"

"It's not important," Dumbledore demurred. "I was merely curious if you'd ever heard of the room or a room that no one seemed to know about."

Filch grunted and turned away, but turned back a moment later. "I did once find a room that I've never been able to find again," he muttered. "I was short of cleaning supplies one day and didn't want to bother you. I was thinking about how I would get some, an' then I saw a door I'd never seen before. When I looked inside, there was everything I needed!"

"Where was this room?" McGonagall quickly inquired.

"That's just it," Filch complained. "I don't remember where I was! It seems like I was on one of the top floors, but I don't recollect where, exactly. I do remember," he added darkly, "it was near where I was when I was after those two Weasley twins one time, and lost 'em!"

"And where did that happen?" McGonagall asked, inwardly sighing about whatever Fred and George had been doing to get Filch chasing them.

"Not far from the Gryffindor common room," Filch grumbled. "Near the old hanging of that lunatic Barnabas the Barmy."

"Thank you, Argus," Dumbledore said, and Filch nodded and shuffled from the room. After he'd gone, "I believe we should begin our search for this Room of Requirement there," Dumbledore told his Deputy Headmistress and the Minister. The three of them began walking toward the nearest staircase, heading to that location.

-o=o-

_At Azkaban prison—_

The training of Voldemort's Death Eaters was proceeding apace: As each prisoner was released from his or her cell, they prostrated themselves at the Dark Lord's feet, kissing the hem of his cloak in supplication for their freedom, then rose and received a yellow power ring on their finger from the tall red-skinned humanoid standing with their master. The ring forced information into their brains, bringing pain and disorientation, though these lasted only moments before they understood the power their new weapon brought to them. They began practicing with it, learning how to manipulate and control the energy of the ring, releasing their frustrations on the cells, walls and ceilings of the prison they had so recently occupied. Doors were ripped open and smashed to pieces. Bars were twisted and melted. Floors and walls were smashed and battered with powerful beams of yellow energy. In short order several floors of the prison were almost totally destroyed.

The Aurors who had manned the prison did not escape the Death Eaters' anger, either. The few who still survived did not last long as they were tortured by vengeful Death Eaters, particularly Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus and his brother Rastaban, who had been imprisoned since 1981 and particularly loathed the men they saw as their tormentors.

"Your followers do well," Sinestro noted as he watched the destruction, torture and murder with a practiced eye.

"They understand the importance of following orders," Voldemort replied.

"As I trust _you_ do," Sinestro added. "Follow my orders and you will one day rule this world as my vassal."

Voldemort controlled his thoughts and did not react, though something must have slipped through his Occlumency shields. "You disapprove of being my underling?" Sinestro asked, amused.

"I did not say that, my…lord," Voldemort murmured, bowing slightly to show deference to the Yellow Lantern.

"But your thoughts betray you," Sinestro declared. "Make no mistake, Riddle—without me you would still be a prisoner within these wall, you and your little band of rogue magic-users.

"Never forget, _I _gave you this power," Sinestro warned him. "Cross me in any way and I will take it back from you, and you can bend your neck to whoever replaces you as the ruler of this world!" The tall Korugarian smiled evilly and folded his brawny arms across his chest. "I'm sure there are many on this world who would lust after the opportunity I have given you."

"My apologies, my lord," Voldemort forced himself down on one knee to the haughty alien. "I remain your humble servant, and will obey you in all things."

"See that you do," Sinestro said coldly, then walked away to inspect the remains of the last Auror the Death Eaters had just murdered.

Voldemort watched the insufferable alien walk away from him, vowing to find a way to turn the tables on him and force him to his knees before the Dark Lord. To do that, he was sure, he would need the combined might of all his Death Eaters backing him. Fortunately, he believed, their loyalty to _him_ was absolute.


	8. The Training

.

**Chapter Eight**

**The Training**

Updated 5/17/2015

-o=o-

_The Room of Requirement—_

Harry and Hal were overseeing the training of the Hogwarts Green Lantern Corps, as they had decided to call their team, in preparation for defending the school, and indeed the entire Earth, from Sinestro's expected arrival.

"This is really one amazing place," Hal was saying as he watched the new Lanterns being put through their paces. Harry had to agree. The Room of Requirement had created a magnificent training area for them—it seemed even bigger than the stadium where they had watched the Quidditch World Cup last summer, and that had been big enough to fit ten cathedrals inside it!

The newly-minted Lanterns were flying round the room, creating objects of green energy to combat the various spells that Sirius was casting to attack them. Sirius had been a Hit Wizard before joining the Order of the Phoenix during the first Wizarding War; he knew quite a bit about both dueling and what might be called "dirty" wizard fighting. Floating swords, battleaxes and spears flew, swung and crunched against green shields and other defense implements as Sirius sent out spell after spell toward Hermione, Illyana, and Dobby.

But not everyone was training. Ron was staring resentfully at Hermione and the others as they flew around the Room, his own finger barren of a green ring. Harry's ring had refused to create one for him. Ron stood behind Harry and Hal, his eyes boring into the back of Harry's head. Harry could feel Ron's anger and disappointment, but the ring had made it clear—you had to have the right stuff to wield a Green Lantern power ring, and Ron didn't have it. Harry had been tempted to override the ring's decision, but Hal had advised against it.

Still, it bothered Harry that his best mate had not been up to snuff when it came to—well, whatever it was that made him, Hermione, Illyana, Dobby and Sirius worthy of the ring. Harry had made a duplicate ring for Hal as well, because they were going to need numbers to defeat Sinestro once he returned to kill Hal. He was still mightily tempted to give one to Ron as well…

"Take a break!" Sirius called, and everyone flew down to join Harry, Hal and Sirius. Harry suppressed a smile as he viewed the other Lanterns standing before him. Hal had suggested they adopt body suits like his own in order to identify themselves as Lanterns; the two girls had spent some time tweaking the appearance of their costumes. Hermione's suit was similar to Harry and Hal's suits—standard green and black, with white boots and gloves.

Illyana had updated the colors of her original costume to black and green, and had added the Green Lantern symbol to her right shoulder—he left shoulder still bore a stylized X-symbol that she hadn't yet explained.

Dobby-well, Dobby was now wearing a green pillowcase, with green socks on his feet and several pairs of socks on his ears as well, also green. His pillowcase now bore the Green Lantern symbol as well.

"Good practice, everyone," Hal was saying. "You're all getting the hang of creating things with the green energy. Remember: what you can create is limited only by your imagination—the rings have more than enough energy to create whatever you come up with. Any questions?"

Hermione raised her hand. "Yes?" Hal smiled at her.

"How can the ring have such unlimited power yet it can only hold energy for one day?" she asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"That's a good question," Hal agreed. Silently, Harry agreed; he'd wondered why there was such an arbitrary time limit to the rings, along with their limited usefulness against the color yellow. Hal had said it was because of an impurity in the ring, but Harry had no idea what that meant, and when he'd asked the ring directly it didn't seem to hear him.

"It's not really limited in the sense you think," Hal explained. "The ring is charged for one home planetary rotation. If you're from Earth, that's 24 hours. Other worlds have different period of rotation, so a Green Lantern from, for example, Korugar would recharge their rings every Korugarian day, which is about 27 hours long."

"So what's the point?" Illyana asked. "I mean, suppose I said my 'home planet' was Otherplace—would that mean my ring's power could last for years, because a day on Otherplace can be decades long compared to time on Earth!"

"Hmm, that's an interesting point," Hal said. "Well, it's possible the ring uses your body's natural rhythms to determine the length of your 'day.' I think the point of having to recharge the ring is to remind you that you're not really omnipotent—that the ring is to be used wisely, and that you are part of a greater good."

"Right," Ron mumbled behind them. "But not _everyone_ is part of that 'greater good.'" He said the last words mockingly.

"Ron," Harry said, turning to him. "Sorry—you know I wanted you to have a ring every bit as much as everyone here, mate—"

"Save it," Ron cut him off. "I guess I just don't have what it takes. Maybe you should see if Fred or George can have rings—I'll bet _they're_ good enough!"

"That's enough," Sirius snapped. "You're still a wizard, Ron Weasley, and don't you forget it! Tell you what—you can train with _me_. I'll show you some Hit Wizard moves you can use in a fight."

"You will?" Ron's face brightened. "Thanks, Sirius!"

Harry nodded, happy that Ron seemed mollified by Sirius's offer. But there were still other concerns… "Hal," he asked the older Green Lantern, "why do you think Sinestro hasn't already attacked?"

"I wondered about that, too," Illyana said. "It's been over a day since we picked Hal up off that mountain. Sinestro couldn't have been that far behind him."

"I've wondered that, too," Hal agreed grimly. "It's possible Sinestro has already reached Earth and is assessing the current situation. What I wonder is, why he chose not to attack when I was most vulnerable?"

"Maybe he couldn't get through Hogwarts's defenses," Hermione suggested.

"That could be it," Harry agreed. "When Voldemort tried to use the Killing Curse on me in the graveyard, the Ring was able to block the spell. The Killing Curse is supposed to be unblockable."

"Unblockable by magic," Hermione corrected. "It's possible to block it with solid objects, however." She looked at her ring. "The green energy in these rings can be used to create objects of 'solid light,' which can block spells.

Dobby was looking at his ring as well. "But, Hermione Granger," he said to her. "What if a _yellow_ spell is cast? Hal Jordans says the rings doesn't work against yellow."

"It's not quite that simple, Dobby," Hal answered. "You can match your green energy against Sinestro's yellow energy—they cancel each other out. What the ring has a harder time with are objects that are inherently yellow, like Earth's sunlight, for example. Sinestro focused the sun's radiation on me, destroying my legs and hand. He also managed to hit me in one eye with a yellow meteor before I could find a way to deflect it. It has to do with a necessary impurity in the ring."

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked. "What kind of impurity could be _necessary_?"

Hal gave her a wry smile. "I wish I knew, Hermione," he said honestly. "It's never really been adequately explained by the Guardians. And the rings themselves don't seem to know either."

"Yeah," Illyana muttered. "I've asked my ring several times what the deal is, but it won't say a word about it."

There was a sudden loud creak, and all of the Lanterns turned to see a door opening in the wall behind them, a door that hadn't been there moments earlier. Through the door stepped Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, followed closely by Minister Fudge.

"What in Merlin's name—?" Fudge blurted, seeing the immense room they had walked into, and the gaudily-clad Lanterns before them. "What's going on in here?!"

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke calmly but intently. "What have you been doing?"

Harry turned to face Dumbledore. "How did you get in here, Professor?"

Even though he looked quite serious, Dumbledore's eyes still twinkled with amusement. "After all, I _am_ the Headmaster, Harry. While the Room has indulged your needs, it recognized mine as well, and we needed urgently to speak with you."

"I—I can hardly believe this," McGonagall was saying to herself. "This room looks as large as the entire school."

Dumbledore looked around as well. "Indeed. Harry, may I presume you have been learning to use the green ring—" he looked again and corrected himself "—or rather, _rings_, since I see now everyone is wearing one, with the exception of Mr. Weasley."

"_Five_ rings," Fudge whispered, imagining Aurors wielding both these rings and wands. "Dumbledore, tell him," he urged.

"Before you say anything, sir," Harry spoke up before Dumbledore could speak. "We are not giving up the rings. We intend to use them to protect Hogwarts, and the Earth itself, from attack."

"What are you talking about?" Fudge demanded. "You-Know-Who and all of his followers from the graveyard have been stripped of their wands and sent to Azkaban!"

Dumbledore faced the Minister. "Have you forgotten, Cornelius? Harry spoke of another being, an alien called Sinestro, who could be coming to attack Earth. That is why I and the other professors fortified the protections on the castle."

Fudge hadn't forgotten, but he was still trying to find a way to get those rings! "I understand that, Dumbledore!" he snapped. "But we still need those rings for security reasons!"

But Dumbledore shook his head. "I no longer believe that to be the case, Cornelius," he replied. "It is obvious you have your own agenda for these rings, and we do not need to replace Voldemort's tyranny with your own."

"What?!" Fudge sputtered. "How _dare_ you, Dumbledore! If anyone's been planning to take over the Ministry, it's been _you_!"

"How can you say that?!" McGonagall demanded. "Albus has been working tirelessly to _protect_ Britain, not take it over!"

"A likely story!" Fudge sneered. He pointed accusingly at the Headmaster. "He's been plotting a takeover for years! Why else would he stay in a position like the Headmaster of the best wizarding school in the world, if not to recruit young people in order to take over the Ministry! This 'Order of the Phoenix' business was just a front to place his people in key positions in our government, people like Shacklebolt and that Tonks girl, who's graduating from Auror Training this summer! Oh, yes, Dumbledore, we've suspected they were your men for some time now! There's no use denying it!"

"I suspect there isn't," Dumbledore said, a note of sadness in his tone. "But you are quite wrong, Cornelius. I have never had designs on your power, such as it is. While you have played your games in the Ministry and the Wizengamot, I have tried to keep us safe from Voldemort's ever-subtle encroachment on our freedoms. While it is gratifying now that he and most of his Death Eaters are in Azkaban, we are not truly safe while any of them remain at large. They may seek to free their master from prison."

"Preposterous!" Fudge snorted derisively. "The Dementors will stop them! And I won't hesitate to have any or all of them Kissed if there's the least possibility of them getting out!"

"So much death," Dumbledore sighed.

"They won't hesitate to kill us, if the tables were turned!" Fudge pointed out.

"Which does not justify us," the Headmaster replied. "We are supposed to be better than that."

-o=o-

_And at Azkaban Prison— _

In the command center of the prison Sinestro regarded the ragtag collection of humans he had gathered to himself to help clear the way for his domination of this planet. "You have learned well," he said to them. "We are ready to attack."

He was lying, of course. None of these humans would last 30 seconds in a ring battle with him. But they had learned enough to blast their way through most defenses, and if some of them perished during the assault on the school where Jordan was being protected, so be it. None of them would survive past his takeover of Earth, anyway—especially not their leader, who even now was plotting treachery against him.

"What is your plan, Sinestro?" Voldemort demanded. "How will we breach Hogwarts's defenses if you could not get past them?"

"We have numbers now," Sinestro answered. "There will be over three dozen of us instead of one. We will attack along several different lines simultaneously, overloading their defenses."

"That is a reasonable plan," Voldemort agreed, stepping away from his men. "There is strength in superior numbers, something _you_ should have realized." Over three dozen yellow rings were suddenly pointed at the tall, red alien. Voldemort offered him a malevolent smile.

Sinestro looked around the room. His expression did not change. Voldemort could almost admire him for his courage. "I do wish to thank you for the gift of these rings," the Dark Lord continued. "They will come in quite handy during our conquest of this world. However, you will no longer be a part of that conquest."

"Go ahead, then," Sinestro declared. "Kill me and be done! I accept my fate as the price of my lack of foresight."

"Kill him," Voldemort said simply. Three dozen beams of yellow power lanced out, converging on the Korugarian and enclosing him in a cocoon of destructive force. The power of only one ring was capable of destroying all life on Earth—the force of three dozen such beams was nigh-incalculable.

Yet, when the beams ceased their blinding assault on the renegade Green Lantern, Sinestro stood—unharmed!

"Did you idiots really think I would give you unrestricted access to my energy?" Sinestro laughed. "Your rings are under my ultimate control. Observe." Sinestro struck out at a random Death Eater, obliterating him in less than a second. The other humans shrank back from him in fear, though Voldemort himself did not move. Sinestro locked eyes with the human. "Am I clearly understood?"

There were quick nods of assent from the Death Eaters, though Voldemort remained silent. Finally, the Dark Lord nodded his head. "Understood."

"Understood, _what_?" Sinestro demanded.

"Understood, Master," Voldemort said, lowering his eyes.

"Very good," the Korugarian gloated. "Now, we will begin."

Sinestro strode to the center of the command room. "Behold my power!" he shouted, raising his ring in the air above his head. It flashed yellow and the entire building trembled.

"What are you doing?" Voldemort demanded.

"I want them to see us coming," Sinestro said. "And what better way to herald our arrival than in a powerful structure such as this?"

The Death Eaters were looking at one another in confusion. What did the alien mean, in a structure such as this? Their questions were answered a moment later as Azkaban began to _lift into the air_, the entire seven-story structure, moving faster and faster upward until it was free of the island. It began moving to the southwest, toward Scotland.

Inwardly, Voldemort was seething with impotent fury. His attempt to wrest control from the alien had failed—he should have made certain he and his men held the upper hand before trying to usurp Sinestro's power! But perhaps in the confusion of the attack on Hogwarts he could find a way to surprise the Yellow Lantern using magic rather than the ring power…


	9. The Interim

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**Chapter Nine**

**The Interim**

Updated 6/14/2015

-o=o-

_The Room of Requirement—_

Fudge seemed quite intent on arguing, but before he could speak again Dumbledore put up a hand, forestalling him. "Cornelius, I'm quite sure we could discuss this _ad infinitium_, not to mention _ad nauseum_, but absent a vote of the full Wizengamot outlawing the possession of such rings in order to confiscate them, I do not see them being turned over to you." He smiled benignly at the Minister. "And, seeing as I am the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, even if you were to bring the motion it would not carry."

Fudge gave a frustrated harrumph, twirling his green bowler hat in his hands.

"Now, may I suggest that you return to the Ministry?" Dumbledore gestured to the door. "I'm sure the matter of Voldemort—" Fudge, McGonagall and Ron all flinched "—and his followers requires your guidance and leadership."

"Very well, Dumbledore," Fudge agreed, defeated. "But mark my words, we haven't finished our discussion of those rings!" The Minister put on his hat and strode to the exit with as much dignity as he could muster—which was to say, not very much—and passed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I daresay we _haven't_ heard the last of the rings," Dumbledore mused. "But not in the way you mean, Cornelius." He turned to Harry and Hal. "Carry on, gentlemen. Minerva and I will begin evacuating the students."

"Evacuating the students? What do you suspect, Albus?" McGonagall wanted to know.

"If Mr. Potter and Mr. Jordan are correct, the school is likely to be attacked by this Sinestro fellow. It is our duty to protect the children. Since all classes and tests have been completed we can dismiss the school," Dumbledore informed her.

"A good idea," Hal agreed. "In fact, I should leave as well—I don't want any innocent lives to be in danger because of me."

"Hold on," Harry said. "Professor, isn't Hogwarts the safest place to be? I think Mr. Jordan ought to stay with us."

"Harry, I can take care of myself—" Hal protested.

"Sure you can," Illyana broke in. "Humpty-Dumpty!"

Hal laughed in spite of Illyana's comment. "Normally, Harry, I would agree with you," Dumbledore replied. "But the nature of your and Sinestro's power rings makes the protections afforded by magic less than completely assured. With regard to student safety I would prefer to err on the side of caution."

Harry nodded. "I can't argue with that, sir."

"I should hope not," Dumbledore smiled. "Come, Minerva, let us proceed with the evacuation." Dumbledore and McGonagall left the Room.

"Right, then!" Sirius clapped his hands, bringing everyone to attention. "Ron, you're with me, we'll get in some wand practice while Hermione, Illyana and Dobby do some one-on-one sparring.

"If it's alright," Illyana spoke up. "I'd like to spar a bit with Harry."

"Fine by me," Sirius shrugged. "If it's okay with Harry."

"Sure," Harry nodded. He hadn't had much of a chance to talk to Illyana, though she'd gotten him and Hal back to Hogwarts quickly enough to save his life.

"Okay," Hermione agreed. "Dobby and I can work together." She looked at the house-elf with a mischievous smile. "As long as he promises to go easy on me."

Dobby's eyes grew wide with horror. "Dobby would _never_ not go easy on Hermione Granger!" he said, earnestly. Illyana snickered and Harry smiled.

"Dobby, I'm teasing you," Hermione said gently. "Come on, we'll find someplace quiet…" she and the house-elf flew off together. Sirius and Ron had moved away to practice with their wands, leaving Harry and Illyana alone together.

"I've been wanting to talk to you—" Harry began. Illyana laughed.

"What's been stopping you?" she asked. "We've known each other for a couple of days now."

"Maybe not that long," Harry said. "More like 10 or 12 hours at most."

The blonde shrugged. "Sorry, I'm a little screwed up, time-wise. So speak—what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, first of all, I want to thank you for bringing me and Hal back to Hogwarts. That may have made the difference for him surviving those injuries."

"I'd say that was mostly _you_, Harry," Illyana replied. "You and that ring, and what you were able to do to heal him. I was able to make him comfortable in Limbo, but I couldn't have done what you did."

"I just did what had to be done," Harry said, modestly. He wanted to move the subject of conversation away from himself. "So tell me what this Limbo is like."

"Oh." Illyana shook her head. "Well, it's not much to speak of, just a little pocket dimension with a single planet filled with every kind of demon scum you ever heard of. No big deal."

Harry gave her an odd look. He had no idea what a "pocket dimension" was supposed to be. "You said something about a—Belasco, was it—being its ruler?"

"_Former_ ruler," Illyana corrected him. "It's mine, now. Place comes in handy if I have to be somewhere in a hurry."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she explained. "Every time I use a stepping disc to go somewhere, I have to pass through Limbo. It's kind of like the 'hub' of Otherplace Airlines, so to speak," she grinned at her own joke.

"Really?" Harry was surprised. "I never noticed being there when we teleported before."

"Well, mostly I don't stop when we're passing through. We're never there more than a few milliseconds," she said.

"I think I'd like to see it, if that's okay with you," Harry suggested.

Illyana smiled at him. "Sure!" she agreed, walking over to stand next to him. "Ready?"

"I guess so."

A stepping disc appeared below them and they vanished in a flash of light.

-o=o-

_Northeastern Scotland—_

A 100-foot tall column of iron and steel passed over the shores of Scotland on its way to a school hidden somewhere in the Highlands, causing what few people saw it to call their local constabulary or police department, frantically reporting a UFO or _something_ up in the air.

Atop the structure, Sinestro and the former prisoners of Azkaban Prison watched the countryside pass beneath them, awaiting their arrival at Hogwarts. Most of them were silent, awed by the power of the yellow rings the tall alien had demonstrating in uprooting the entire prison from its North Sea island and flying it back to Britain.

Voldemort, for his own part, still plotted a way to wrest control from Sinestro. It was the alien's ring that controlled their rings—therefore he must obtain that ring, somehow, so it could not be used against him. But _how_ to do that?

He would have to hope that during the fight at the school (for there surely was to _be_ a fight at Hogwarts) he could seize an opportunity during the chaos and confusion of battle to surprise the alien and take the ring from him.

"It will not be long," Sinestro was saying. "We are not far from where Jordan is hiding."

"What is the plan, Master?" Voldemort asked. "How will we attack the school?"

"It will be quite simple, Riddle," the Korguarian answered. "I shall drop this structure on the castle, destroying the enchantments protecting it."

Behind Sinestro, the newly-formed Sinestro Corps looked at one another in silent horror. _Drop the prison on the school_? Most of them had _gone_ to Hogwarts! There was a difference between attacking the school and those who protected it, and _destroying_ the school itself!

"Do you think that wise, Master?" Voldemort asked, carefully. "The school will be destroyed."

Sinestro turned to stare coldly at him. "_Of course_ the school will be destroyed! What do I care for some ancient, useless building? Especially when it protects my enemy?!" He turned away.

Voldemort backed away from the alien, wondering if this was the moment to attack. _None_ of them, other than Sinestro himself, wanted to see the school destroyed. He wanted to _control_ the school someday, not see it ruined. He turned, facing his men, searching their faces for solidarity, raising his ring hand slightly to telegraph his intent. He could _not_ use the ring to communicate with them—Sinestro's ring would likely inform him of their intent.

But most of them were still scared, cowed by the destruction of one of their members when the Dark Lord ordered them to kill the alien. Frightened eyes looked into his, small shakes of their head telling him they dared not risk death when some measure of power was so near to them now!

_Fools_! Voldemort spat within his own mind, disgusted with their timidity. How could they have followed his orders for all those years, only to fail _now_ when it really mattterd?! He turned his back on them, wondering what he could do by himself to stop the school from being destroyed. It would not be long before they arrived there.


End file.
